Prayer for a Fallen Tree

When I recently discovered that a group of long-standing trees were to be cut down due to disease, I was profoundly saddened. These are not just trees, but they are a part of the landscape and their branches have pushed against the sky for many years. The loss of these trees will not only be the loss of sentient beings, but a long time part of the local scenery. The sky will miss their branches.

I put together this Prayer for a Fallen Tree, and I share it with you.

A Prayer for a Fallen Tree

Blessings to you,
O Spirit of Nature,
Child of the Earth Mother,
You sought the waters deep in the Earth,
Your reach stretched across the land,
Your branches reached into the skies.

You have seen many seasons,
And in those days,
You taught us of the cycles in our lives:
Birth,
Growth,
Bloom,
Colours,
Decline,
Dormancy.

We all pass through these seasons,
Some once,
Some many times.
Now,
In the winter of this world,
It is the winter of your days,
And those days are at an end.

Sickness and age are enemies,
That are hard to master,
And harder yet to overcome.

On this day,
Your time is at hand,
Not by the slow decay of time and weather,
But by the hands of men,
Not in cruelty,
But with great care.

We call to your spirit in thanks,
We call to your spirit in wonder,
We call to your spirits in peace.

May the fires from your wood,
Reach upwards to the sky,
Where the Gods will be watching.

May the heat from those fires,
Bring warm and comfort,
To a cold, winter’s day.

May the ashes from those fires,
Return to the Earth Mother,
Where she will be waiting with open arms.

Blessings to you,
O Spirit of Nature,
Child of the Earth Mother,
You sought the waters deep in the Earth,
Your branches stretched across the land,
Your branches reached into the skies.

We honour you this day. 
 


 Co