“LIGHTING OF THE OAKS”

“Lighting of the Oaks”, oil on wood panel, 2025.

the trees caught sun until they couldn’t;

palming the glow, pressing full court,

a full moon emerges to contend.

freed to the cold, I settle into the old job -

putting lost leaves back onto the branch,

life into the languished, color into winter.

I watched these oaks give away their leaves,

trade their leverage against the dark for sleep,

allow their spark to expire in a bid to return

in a wild puzzle game that loses all its pieces,

and resets itself yearly, unto death of the sun.

no math to it, save the certainty of will.

there are those who would tell you “it all ends.”

I have placed stained glass in the space

between nude limbs, and lifetimes of loss.