For trees

Praise be to God for trees:

For shade, 

for shelter from the rain 

and a break against the wind.

Praise be to God for trees:

For leaves that embrace the sun, 

catch up the CO2, 

and release a breath of oxygen.

Praise be to God for trees:

For limbs and branches 

that file away the carbon, 

stored up for another day.

Praise be to God for trees:

For deep roots anchored in the soil, 

fastening down the soil 

and drawing up the water.

Praise be to God for trees:

A takeaway stall of diverse  fruits, 

nuts and berries,  

and sugary sap.

Praise be to God for trees: 

A nesting place, and a resting place

for a menagerie of dwellers – 

bees and butterflies, bats and beetles,

owls and badgers – 

and maybe too for me.