Secret Tree
A Poem by Scott Schuleit
If someone tells you the secret of its place
and you walk far enough, you’ll find it,
the tallest tree in the region.
Standing here, peering upwards in warm,
gently gusting night, it appears
to be swaying faintly, ever so faintly,
the topmast of a ship riding over
a slightly undulating ocean of earth.
From this high lookout one understands
the luminous dust of the stars are uncountable,
and points of city lights innumerable.
From such a great height, one of the world’s
great cities to the south can be seen,
its prettiness deepened, ugliness
smoothed over by darkness and distance.
Climbing and climbing through my imagination,
clinging to the cut and scratch
of its moonlight-brushed bark and branches.
Gazing as if on a cliff, the spire of a church,
a mountain. Soft wind flowing
more freely up here. Leaves whispering,
hinting at their mysteries. A small owl
perched near swivels its head towards me,
large, unfazed eyes glowing. Soon,
more wonders will come, the fullness
of such things, dark of the horizon disappearing
in the golden light of the ascending sun.
Scott Schuleit is a follower of the blessed, holy, triune God, a husband to his dear, lovely wife
Christina, and the Associate Pastor at North Palm Baptist Church. His poems have appeared in
various publications, including Christianity & Literature, and Ekstasis. He is the author of A
Pernicious Correspondence: Letters from a Devil (Prevail Press, 2021).
