Trees and Seagulls

This poem owes everything in terms of inspiration to Mary Oliver’s poem ‘Wild Geese’
It also borrows heavily from the structure and format of that poem.
I make no apology for any of that.
And I trust that Mary Oliver would approve.

David

Trees and Seagulls

You do not have to regret.
You do not have to lose yourself
in a frenzy of self-recrimination.
You do not have to surround yourself
with a phalanx of if-onlys, maybes,
what-ifs and shoulds or oughts.

For if you are here at all
you are a survivor.
For if you are here at all
you are where you are meant to be.

You are a person crafted from
your own experiences;
you do not have to pretend otherwise.
Rather celebrate the person
you have become.

Tell me about dark days, yours,
and I will tell you about mine.

Meanwhile the trees outside your window
are being stripped of their leaves
by the cold winds of Autumn,
stripped of their beauty, laid bare
to face the harshness of winter naked.
But they too are survivors.

Step outside, shake hands with a tree,
congratulate it on its ability to endure.

Tell me about loneliness, yours,
and I will tell you about mine.

Meanwhile at the raw junction of land and sea
seagulls fight their way up wind,
climb the updrafts beside the cliffs,
turn, soar away in an expression
of delight at their being.

Step outside, shed perhaps
a tear of joy,
for you are ready to reclaim
your rightful place
in this hard, yet exciting, world.