My Nature Writing and Ecological Literature class has come to a close. For my final project, I wrote three poems on three difference "phases" of wood (a log, a plank, and a sheet of paper). Each represents a different way we commodify trees! Let me know what you think!
I) Log
You steal this peace
of a branch that scarred
you, Father,
to show it who’s boss of Beauty.
a tree shall not
respect a man
a man who steals
her week’s-worth
color already dies
without him
autumn’s living
wake gives the wind
one more song
before first frost
You admire her
before you slice
her from core
through dirtied coat.
You admire her
before you convince her
to burn whole.
You admire her
before her remnants
taint your soles.
You admire her
before you
burn yourself, too.
II) Plank
I lick this peace
of shimmed polio
memories
wall of ties
walls of Grandfather’s Home.
sawdust sweeps through
moistened nostrils
and settles in memory membranes
antiquated cologne
each bud tastes the grain
blossom, my dear,
we shall in this Home.
if walls could talk
they would cry –
stopping the wind
when it should be
dancing
if walls could talk
they would cry
with each stubbed toe,
knuckle to stained surface,
and overbearing containment
and if we talked more
to walls, we would cry
in the name of appreciation,
fully knowing
one day we will leave
and the wind will win
splinters and nails
splinters and nails
it tells me
to remind myself –
create and abandon
create once more.
III) Paper
We grasp this peace
of knowledge
with, and for,
the power of the world
from one dead tree
to the next
We pray for someone
who’s written on you
to pray for you
wrinkles and roots
swiftly and deeply
sap our soul observation
we caress and prod
recollections between
ground and pressed
slivers of merciless value
pages are flavored
by our fingerprints
rather than their mothers’
and we wrote
how they tasted homey
but never quite like Home
hypocrisy contained
in animal flesh binding
insecurities
soul embellishment
silent wishes
always hoping to birth masterpieces
