in which i photosynthesize broken promises

o, forest
you carry much 
weight:

            stripped of sustenance your 
            furrowed dirt yet nourishes ferns unfurling.

i wear your wariness 
threading through 
landscape and

            swallow the burden so the heft 
            sits in my belly.

as you speak sunshine 
i rearrange the soil under my fingernails,
finger to thumb, root to root

             damp moss patterned in veins
             of unruly justice

and write to you—

                                        you in power
                                        you in the marble halls
                                        empty of heady wilderness, 

                                        you who drags his heavy hand 
                                        across boreal ground, 

                                        you with the red tape and knotted tongue
                                        wielded only for the wealthy

                                        you who exploits his driver’s seat to 
                                        keep the world turning in his favor

                                        you whose throne is 
                                        built by blackened skies
                                        blackened earth
                                        blackened oil extracted and burned 	
                                                                                              all for the cash
                                        (always the cash)