The Trees' Gifts

You may take the trees as a hiding place.
Place yourself among the trees when you
are angry or sad or in need of solitude.
The place is freely entered and freely left.
The trees have life but have no thoughts
and no feelings. This is one of their gifts.

You may take a novel as a hiding place.
Find yourself inside a story, as freely
entered and left as a place among trees.
The novel may be a printed book,
its paper from trees become pulp.
This is another of their gifts.

Or you may read a novel on a screen.
Then the trees themselves are hidden,
precursors of the digital page.
Not to be needed is their last gift.  
Angry or sad or in need of solitude,
you may take the trees as a hiding place.