WHEN TREES COULD TALK ABOUT THEIR SCARS

It was a day

      when trees

              could talk about their scars

But the forest

      all lay quiet

              and completely still.

All the old,

      the gnarled ones,

              with wounds

And bark torn deep,

      and stains of sap

              creeping down their flanks.

All of these,

      with burns

              and marks of blade

Held total peace,

      attention focused

             on their roots.

Jo Anzalone Oct. 30, 2006

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