How We Went from Roots to Legs

You seem to forget
that before the animals were walking on their legs
they were trees
fixed in place with roots
terrified of what might lurk outside their groves.

The stories that the wind carried by
of landscapes unthinkable
of the waters below and the air above
would make them shiver in fear.

No one knows what made them change their minds.
How they tore themselves from the earth
and their roots turned to legs and wings.
But it's no wonder we see faces amidst the bark
or hands in the grasping twigs.
A deeper part of us than we can reach
sees these beings standing tall
and thinks,
hello, old friend.