For Two Caregivers

I am the parched land, and you are the water
Together we can make rivers that caress the rocks and sparkle with joy
Our waterfalls will vault into the air with fearlessness
And implicit faith that the land and water will be together again in the pools below
Cuddling, silty, not knowing where land ends and water begins.

I am the stunted forest, and you are the sun
Together we can grow a home for birds and insects and mammals and newts
The Swainson’s thrush teases us with its come-hither call but stays just out of sight
Our shadows walk across the ground, you warm the rock for the lizard, I cool the stream for the fish
In the morning, the trees are me, but when you set, they are we.

I am the stagnant air, and you are the wind
Together we can make music, tickling the trees, whistling through rocks, harmonizing with the grasses
Our waves bring weary wanderers to shore, the crashing, crashing, crashing sets our heartbeats as one
We dance over the mountaintops, fling clouds across the sky, bring rain to the parched land.
But you are also the parched land, and I am also the water, and we will learn to be cared for by one another.