The World Tree

I walked through the woods, my mind adrift, and my feet wandering freely.

I came upon a clearing, and within the clearing stood a tree.

The tree's height was so great that it seemed the very sky sprung from within it's branches.

So broad, that 20 men could lie on the earth around it without surrounding it.

Powerful, though not demanding, there was nothing else to perceive.

Only the tree I saw, and it seemed an eternity I stood.

On the crest of the hill, entranced by it's beauty.

The seasons changed, and the leaves fell like rain to the ground.

Winter fell, yet I felt no cold.

I stood unblinking, without mind to my surroundings, as the snow began to recede.

Even still when the leaves were reborn.

As the days grew short again, I began to move with the stars, slowly, steadily.

It was raining when I reached my goal.

My rags long since dissolved, my bare feet made no sound.

As my arm is extended, the tethers on our mind fade.

Rough, aged bark touching soft, warm skin.

Two extensions of the same being.

Roots extending through the world, eyes focused only on themselves.

As the seasons change, and the body turns to soil,

A child is born.