THE TALLEST TREES
The tallest trees in the world thrive best in mist
and rain, and scatter their seeds over large, damp areas of land.
On the forest floor beetles and snakes crawl, and the insects
whirr in our nostrils when we follow the paths. The birds
fly upwards between horizontal branches, and the sunset,
cautiously climbs down the gnarled trunks without ever
quite reaching the bottom, where sorrel, fern and green moss wait
patiently for the rain water to follow suit, leaf by leaf.
The tallest creations on the earth have little to fear,
apart from fire, which can send its storm troops right
into the crown in a few seconds. Then the burnt tree topples down
into the moss, and the cone seeds turn to ash. Only the root
survives, and down in the soil the new shoots start to grow
forming a ring round the fallen tree. From our own experience, or
just as much from bitter loss, we call the new trees the family circle.
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