Tell me what I am seeing on my dailyÂ
walk to the park.Â
Tell me if the squirrels are stoppingÂ
for more than fear as they stand with their paws lifted,Â
their side-eyes looking strongly at me.Â
Tell me what they are feeling and tell me if I have felt that also.Â
Tell me whether that feeling is within and also beyond fearÂ
and tell me if their momentary stare becomes words in meÂ
and whether those words are true.
We are here together. We survived the rain together.Â
It was not a deluge and no trees fell.Â
Tell me if these young animals, my neighbors,Â
are surprised by winter after the long summer heat.Â
Tell me who taught them when to begin to bury the walnutsÂ
from my tree and how they know where to find them again.Â
Tell me what we can learn together.Â
Tell me if we can mourn together if this year, again, another thousand trees Â
fall in our city, uprooted by uncanny winds and flooding rains.Â
Tell me, because I do not believe it,Â
whether scientists will learn to decode the language of animalsÂ
and tell me if they are watchers and guardiansÂ
who can help us to learn what we must:Â
about what our near future holdsÂ
about what can still be set rightÂ
about what to tell our children Â
about it all.Â
