Old Growth Forest

• JAN CARR –

OLD GROWTH FOREST

I hear a murmuring in the tops
of the giant pines and hemlocks.
They chuckle at the humans below,
labeling them “old growth.”
What do humans know…
they whisper in the wind,
about old,
let alone growth?

There is an ancient completion here
between Hemlock and Pine,
rising up and up
to see who can
touch the clouds first.
Occasionally a Beech
gives a challenge,
but doesn’t have a chance,
working only part time.
In defeat she puts on
a flashy golden show,
which the other trees
seem to appreciate
and give her room to grow.

Are limbs mere stepladders
for the stars to dance
and play, and chase the moon away?
What visions have they seen?
How many meteors
have flared across their crowns,
or cries of life and death
been caught
and buried in their leaves?
What stories could they tell
of life beyond our sights?

When the rings of time
finally weigh them down,
they lie like giant sailing ships
on an ocean of waving ferns,
dead limbs, broken masts
now manned by Chickadee,
commanded by a Jay.

I want to do
what I could not do
when these mighty ships sailed upright—
to climb aboard and sail away,
to touch the limbs
that touched the sky.
But I hesitate,
then let them lie.

Jan Carr lives near Himrod NY and works as an all-purpose remodeling contractor and gardener/landscaper. As former co-owner of a blueberry farm here, she has always had a deep connection to the spirit of the land.