A Broker in the Woods

Once a man came to visit me while I was busy doing nothing out in the woods,
he was dressed fine with a leather case and shoes that matched.
He said he were a broker, and explained to me
he was a man that goes between one thing for sell and another who does the buying.
I explained to him how busy I was and he offered that was ok,
he would just accompany me while explaining all the security he could offer me.
He seemed so enthusiastic and kind that I could hardly refuse him
and so we walked amongst the woods
all the while he explaining to me all these things that ensured my pleasant way of life
while drilling for oil and building skyscrapers and automobiles and computers
and all those things so necessary for the happiness of a man like me.
I tried to offer him some insight into the ferns found along the path
and how they were amongst the oldest of plants to be found on earth.
He seemed not very impressed as
I mentioned that unlike most, ferns reproduced not from seeds or from flowers,
but from spores that floated upon currents until residing wherever they alight
and formed a totally new thing reproduced from their very own eggs and sperm.
Still he went on, hardly taking notice of anything that I had said,
all about being rich and able to enjoy a life of ease and comfort.
So I moved on to the old oak tree that stood so majestically and mightily rising high above us.
I told him how the oak we now stood under was probably as old as the country itself
and very agreeably he smiled and suggested
I could be sure what he had to offer would survive longer than me,
and even longer than the oak tree itself.
I returned his smile even though I was more than a little disturbed by his restlessness and certainty
about this thing he suggested to be as grand as the mighty oak tree itself.
This thing I said to him that stands between me and you, my dear sir,
had best outlast those you suggest are for so sure.
He assured me that one is not exclusive to the other
and in fact each complements the other.
I smiled and walked him back to his car
and thanked him for his time and enthusiasm
telling him that I needed to return to the woods
while they still stood amidst the cloud and haze of all that he had offered me.