looking down

tell me, dear tree

what do you look like under the soil

the parts of you I cannot see

do your roots branch toward an opposite sky

dark and earthy expanse

stars of hyphae

mycelium clouds

i stand here gazing up

thinking i can know you

by following your reaching branches

pointing toward the heavens

thinking you might just show me

something up there

but will i find a clearer picture

by looking down

tell me

is this your incomplete self

this strong swaying beauty

what do you look like beneath the blanket of soil

do your roots reflect your branches

or are they more like veins

delicate

naked

no need for protective bark

when swaddled in earth's embrace

and tell me

where is you heart

is that safe underground too

or is it the ground itself