Sequoia

(Poem included in the Poems of Yosemite chapbook.)

Ineffable – 
Still, I write these lines
                          trite.
A scaffold of words
which whence removed 
casts only a silence 
of long shadows.
To you, the paradigm
of living time,
I write ephemeral 
wordless words.

You say nothing
though the wind wafts
words which speak 
beyond words to each.
The sound of wind 
continues in the stillness
and reaches into 
the logos which 
spells the visitors
deeper than these.

You speak centuries –
the entire time
of our adolescence –
when you’ve watched 
as we wrestle with 
the worst of nature.
You were made for fire
and your cambium grows 
thick bark and fibers
over the scars. 

Does too our tissue 
grow over scars?
Wars, devastations?
Will these as well clear
the understory?
But you don’t create fire
you endure it.  
Is that the difference?
This is your nature,
share and compare us ours.

We see your exposed rings 
and the markers 
telling us which ring 
belongs to Christ
and the Inquisition.
I see my ring
but not the current
as only the living
scribe those rings 
and they are being written.

Poetry overcomes time 
and endows the ephemeral 
with permanence.
Your permanence 
is presence and in 
this silence of time
the visitors sense
then understand – 
they’ve come not to see you
but themselves.

Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

A comment has not been posted for this poem. Encourage a poet by being the first to comment.