Image from Wepna Loneagle
At Grandmothers Circle the Earth
No copyright infringement intended.
I remember when we were many, as far as the eye could see, covering the land from sea to sea. In those days, the wild creatures were plentiful, and the few humans were our friends. We lived together in harmony and mutual respect. Now, most mountain slopes are bare, marked with clearcuts. And still they come for we few Old Ones remaining. We tremble; the earth shudders with their mighty equipment. I cling with my roots, dig them deeply, feeling in the underground network of our joined hands the screams of the fallen, that the humans don't hear. I ache with the thump of their bodies hitting the ground. As they die, they go silent. Roots slain, I will hear them never again.
I weep as my sisters fall, long roots pointing at the sky, as if the wisdom teeth of the planet are being pulled, along with the wise old ways human beings have forgotten. The wild creatures flee, homeless, with nowhere to go, starving and afraid. The planet warms; wildfires come for those of us remaining. Our garden has turned into the apocalypse in just one hundred years. For greed, for oil, for money. The last of my kind watches in horror and disbelief. Because humans don't understand, our fate will soon be theirs.
216 words. For Telling Tales with Magaly at Poets United on Sunday: writing from the perspective of trees. Sunday in Tofino, we are holding a tree event, to state the obvious: we need to protect the old growth we have left. We are fighting losing battle, it seems.
Oh, I do believe you have found the authentic voice of the trees, resounding in so many places now. Sad indeed! And beautifully, simply and forcefully said.
ReplyDelete"as if the wisdom teeth of the planet are being pulled" Indeed! Heart wrenching, Sherry, and too too true and believable.
ReplyDeleteFor a species that named itself wise, we are very stupid animals. This breaks my heart and makes me want to scream and cry and continue screaming all at the same time. I will never understand humanity's blindness and straight up stupidity.
ReplyDeleteYou've voiced the pain so clearly, so relatable.
How I wish many more hear this voice. We are suffering for a handful greedy and stupid humans. "...our fate will soon be theirs." No doubt about it.
ReplyDeleteYour prose filled my heart with lead – I can’t bear the thought of a world without trees. These words fill me with dread: ‘And still they come for we few Old Ones remaining. We tremble; the earth shudders with their mighty equipment. I cling with my roots, dig them deeply, feeling in the underground network of our joined hands the screams of the fallen…’ and the phrase ‘as if the wisdom teeth of the planet are being pulled’ is so powerful. It made me think of the song by Rush: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnC88xBPkkc
ReplyDeleteTrees felled, oceans polluted, icecaps melting and still they think only of profit and not of survival. What a great spokesman for common sense you are Sherry.
ReplyDeleteThat vision of uprooted trees like pulled wisdom teeth...ouch. That just encapsulates the pain factor.
ReplyDeleteWow, this makes me sad “...the screams of the fallen, that the humans don't hear.” Absolutely agree, greed is the worst of horrors, and we will go down because of it.
ReplyDeleteYour passion about the environment shines here, Sherry. I think this a prompt that translate your preoccupations well. Brilliant write, and all the best in your endeavours to protect what is left.
I do hope we awaken before such disaster. Happy Sunday Sherry. Thanks for dropping by to read my tree offering
ReplyDeleteMuch🌲🖤🌴🖤🌳love
Sherry, I think you speak the language of the trees fluently. This is a tree filled with wisdom. I fear for her and her family.
ReplyDeleteVery compelling. The personification of trees seems to come so naturally, doesn't it … almost as if there is more of a connection there, than most folks realize. I too, think that trees possess wisdom. If only ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
ReplyDeleteIf only we did, too......
ReplyDeleteSherry- this is an amazing write. Your passion shines through with every word.
ReplyDeleteIt is dispicable the abuse of our life partners the trees. It saddens me Sherry. But the trees, while being abused, I belive will be here long after arrogant humans are gone, Great write!
ReplyDeleteThis is a strong story that both fires me up and makes me consider how I benefit from the kinds of clear-cutting decried here. Both moving and thought-provoking.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sad story of ourselves... we should have been gardeners not oil barons.
ReplyDeleteLove your tree voice. And yes, I agree, we humans are far too often an unthinking lot.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
You are the voice of the trees. Money lust is the root of so much evil.
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