Arboreal Love

This one is an ode to redwoods, tall and old and beloved. Their heartwood is red, water- and pest-resistant, even fire-resistant. One can walk into a blackened hollow of a trunk, yet the tree still lives.

Too bad they are not people-resistant. Tannins can't stop chainsaws. The ability to regenerate a circle of clones about your trunk can't compete with the monetary benefits of clear-cutting for beautiful hot tubs.

Spotted owls? Banana slugs? Revered forest friends go slighted in civilized society. And who is moved to tears anymore when standing beneath the aged giants? Who holds the fog and light streaming through the trees precious anymore?

All we indoor people have poor circulation--we are cut off from our life-blood, our Mother Earth, our American heritage--now that we no longer listen to the trees.