The trees unveil their minds
We bleed when cut We burn when ignited We breathe to live We cleanse the air We are the boundless family Of a million folks The tangled tales of countless
We bleed when cut
We burn when ignited
We breathe to live
We cleanse the air
We are the boundless family
Of a million folks
The tangled tales of countless bonds
Ancient, sufficient, and wondrously young
Our roots traverse the sprawling earth
From the Congo* to Sulawesi
From Mabaruma to Kota Kinabalu
Down to Tabajos, the Brazilian Amazon
We are the bread and breath of the Earth,
Shelter of the rivers and nutty squirrels
The mercilessly delicious mushrooms
Thrive on our crowded floor.
But the greedy axe, the insatiable digger
Have blighted our bower of peace and bounty
The prodigal farmer and his slash-and-burn
Have left a gash in our fragile flanks
The Iroko calls the Kapok
The Barrigona touches roots with the Mahogany
The forests are falling, the birds are gone
The lungs of the Planet are in dire distress
•First published in Nov. 2019. Re-used here with minor amendments
A Kind of Index
A 'congress' of places and trees in the world's rainforest.
Congo: country/river in Central Africa; Sulawesi: an island in Indonesia; Marubana: a place in Guyana; Kota Kinabalu: a place in Malaysia; Tabajos: a place/river in Brazil; kapok: one of the rainforest's tallest trees; barrigona: palm tree with a prominent bulge.
