Dance of Trees by Sterling Warner

Stately, solemn cedars, elms & oaks

stand composed in days without wind

or rain yet begin to dance unique jigs

as still air turns blustery, inviting

each branch, leaf, or needle to swing.

Orange, apple, and cherry trees shake

green foliage like Nino wood maracas,

rhythmically rattling, establishing cadence

closely embracing like organic Latin lovers

orchards shagging to the salsa, tango & rhumba.

The deciduous rustle inspires nearby pines

to respond with evergreen ballets

Zephyr’s breezes pass though needles

like violin bows drawn across strings

& woodwinds emoting the Swan Lake finale.

Firs, redwoods, juniper, hemlock & cypress

astound one and all with effortless aplomb,

graceful pirouettes, arabesques, entrechats,

& cabrioles, rhythmically leaping, prancing,

animating dense wooden lives infinitum.

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An award-winning Washington-based author, and educator, Warner’s works have appeared literary magazines, journals, and anthologies including Trouvaille Review, Shot Glass Journal, Danse Macabre, and Sparks of Calliope. Warner’s collections of poetry include Rags and Feathers, Without Wheels, ShadowCat, Edges, Memento Mori, Serpent’s Tooth, and Flytraps: Poems (2022)—as well as Masques: Flash Fiction & Short Stories. Currently, Warner writes, participates in “virtual” poetry readings, and enjoys retirement in Washington.