Planting Time

I didn't know it would be like this,
planting a tree.

First mulching and gathering
leaves, straw, wood chips, manure
to spread wide and deep,

finally a little rain
and the time to begin
was now.

I didn't know that on my knees
up to elbows in water and muck,
unfurling roots, and settling in

that it is a prayer to plant a tree.
It is ancestral work,
blessing with water and care.