THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO EVERY LEAF

Underfoot to far above
green leaves grow by the light of life,
solar panels charged with power
to build from water earth and air
themselves, their children, then the whole
animal kingdom, us as well,
and scatter them all
to blossom fresh lives where deserts were,
enquire and explore,
turning over each new leaf
proud if a newer
shines beneath.

That is how we came to pry
these crystal intimacies, we
quick to jot down so much how,
slow to think on why.
To think on why dead straight won't do,
you need to think alive, askew,
as in a poem. Should I go
to that laboratory window,
stare straight out,
count up everything, I doubt
I'd think aside enough to see

why on this hill that dancing ring
of birch trees, circled in their spring,
sly, green-eyed, their leaves laughing,
touch in secret,
root
to root.