Prayer of the Woods

We took a short hike today through the dunes at Grayton Beach State Park along 30A in the Florida Panhandle. It was 30 degrees and quite windy so we were happy to enter a small grove of trees. We were delighted to find a small sign with this prayer on it.

I am the heat of your hearth on cold winter nights. The friendly shade screening you from the summer sun and my fruits are refreshing draughts quenching your thirst as you journey on.

I am the beam that holds your house. The board of your table. The bed on which you lie and the timber that builds your boat. I am the handle of your hoe. The door of your homestead. The wood of your cradle and the shell of your coffin.

I am the bread of kindness and the flower of beauty. Ye who pass by. Listen to my prayer. Harm me not.