by J. Daniel Beaudry

Tree, gather up my thoughts
like the clouds in your branches.
Draw up my soul
like the waters in your root.

In the arteries of your trunk
bring me together.
Through your leaves
breathe out the sky.

 

J. Daniel Beaudry received both his Bachelors and Masters degrees at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. While there, his studies focused, respectively, on medieval literature and the then-newly emerging field of ecopoetics.

Daniel’s poetry has been published in Frogpond, Acorn, Nature in Legend and Story, and world-renowned canopy biologist Dr. Nalini Nadkarni’s book, Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees. Recently, he was honored to be inducted as a trustee of The Edna St. Vincent Millay Society and to facilitate their workshop for new and emerging poets at Steepletop in Austerlitz, N.Y. In the summer of 2009, Daniel also took up a deeper exploration of one of the paradigms he encountered while doing research in ecopoetics by beginning the process of becoming a Buddhist priest at the Tendai Buddhist Institute in Canaan, N.Y.–the only temple outside of Japan authorized to ordain new Tendai priests.

He is New York State certified as a high school English educator and is currently a lecturer in the English Department at The College of Saint Rose. E-mail: beaudryjd@mac.com