Treebeard

It now appears that certain trees lower and raise their branches, not only at nightfall or sunrise, but also with shorter periods, such as two hours. It’s as if they have an internal heartbeat.
—The Scientific and Medical Network Journal, 2018.

busy as we are
we feel your longing
when you walk by
hands held out
fingering
our
bark

busy as we are
feeding fallen sisters and
brothers lying at our feet
feeding beneath the earth
raising branches skyward
lowering again to
earth each night

busy as we are
you swore we moved
& so we did
in the dark
living moving singing things
Fangorn in Sindarin
baritone tree hearts 

thrumming along the trail
wrap your arms around
vibrations that feed
your own heart
put your head
against the bast
as if against

some great beast
whose heat rises
from the loam.