Delighted To Be The Oak
by Bella Osborn

The trees are quiet looking when in the dark.
The mess of overgrown leaves are overjoyed at the idea of hugging the larger oak.

When did I become the oak?

Hugged and lulled by the gentle touch of an ivy?
Soothed and even comforted by the melodic whooshing of the wind through the canopy?
When did I,
the ivy soothing the oak,
become the one to be soothed?

Much like a mushroom has its purpose supporting the woods,
I have the purpose of caring for others.
When did I,
the proverbial ink cap
become the woods?
Fed and cared for?

When did I
become so delighted,
to no longer be the ivy
nor the ink cap
but a tree
viewed in awe for its beauty?

Does the ivy only serve a purpose of physical comfort?
Do the ever green needles reach into the wooden soul of the individual
grasping their insecurities by the hand,
successfully wrapping them in a leaf coat?

Or does the lush fragrance of the leaves invite a community of birds and mammals
to enter the tree’s demure manner?

Where the birds offer their finest feathers
and create the lushest of comforts.

Like all organisms,
the oak evolves defenses.

For what difference is there between an oak in a forest
wrapped in its bark,
and a girl,
hugging her knees?
Rough and bruised, hardened skin.

~
Bella Osborn is a conservation biologist from Upstate New York who works at the heart of the Saratoga Sand Plains. Bella studied Conservation Biology and Environmental Writing & Rhetoric at SUNY ESF. When she’s not at work teaching environmental education or volunteering in the local community, she spends her time reading and studying native plants. She finds inspiration for her writing and art in the nature around her, particularly on hikes where she has the opportunity to get up close and really befriend the environment.

~
Artist Statement: “Delighted To Be The Oak” is a short prose about a young girl taking solace in the forest. It’s a story about being born into the nourishing role and finally emerging, like an ink cap through the forest litter, into a role in which she’s finally nourished.

~
Featured Image: Photo by Fiona Bowden, 2018