The Poetry of Trees Gone By, by Susan Christensen

The Poetry of Trees Gone By
(Musings on Campbell River's shoreline)

Driftwood, nature’s recycled artwork
Gnarled, twisted, tangled tree bones washed upon the shore.
Temporary landmarks on the beach
Having a newly picturesque life
So totally removed
From their still standing forest of fellows.

After eons of tossing
In the perpetual motion of waves,
Debarking, shedding their dead skin,
Reduced to timeless silvered skeletons
They reveal an incredible individuality
Not evident in their first lives
As just one more tree entwined into the evergreen forest.

Now, roots and all, the bleached, heavily grained surfaces
Rest like poetry in the sands.
No longer functional, practical entities.
No longer statically rooted in place,
But honed like thoughts,
Metaphorically, they present new points of view
Sparking the imaginations of future generations
By laying bare fundamentals of the past.

by Susan Christensen