January Tree

I would dance, too, if I spent my life surrounded by rhododendrons. They lose their flowers but retain that wild, joyous green throughout the winter.

(OK, maybe “wild” isn’t quite the word, given it’s New England, and in a cemetery. Perhaps it’s flamboyant… Or extravagant.)

The way the moss (or is it lichen?) on the tree branches echo the rhododendron leaves below; the way the limbs cross one another, as though waving arms; the gentle grace of their interaction.

I acknowledge the anthropomorphic nature of these observations and I don’t actually think these trees and bushes are proto-human. It’s just an exercise of eye and mind that helps make this troubling time feel more manageable.

I can’t explain it better than that and it works for me, so I go for it!