Heartwood by Sulis (30 May 2009)
After the forest fell
to the wild and sudden winds.
After the Grandmother
- the oak who strengthened our visions -
fell to her knees,
all her children around her,
silent
as the angel
I once saw in her
skyward branches ...
What sacrifice is best made?
Could we imagine
something different than a return to order?
In the days that followed this chaos
my heart
was broken open,
like the heartwood of trees.
Hieroglyphics appeared
on hewn surfaces
and tears
oozed.
Kind giants thrown down
in tangled protective mounds,
they did
not harm us.
This astonished me.
We labored twenty days
- one for each minute of the maelstrom.
Threw ourselves into the arms
of dying branches and leaves,
thick with spring pollens.
Rain-soaked, new leaves
and shallow sodden roots, had
absorbed the violent words
of wind and change
- had brought it all down to earth,
as we were brought down.
Without hidden power, and
cut off
from our addictions,
we stepped into the Now.
Exhilarated by a greater power.
I built pyres that burned high,
even in deluges of rain.
I stacked grand pyramids of logs,
enough for three winters.
(Deeper in the forest
the elders will be left to rest and return
their elixirs
to the soil of soul,
sleeping.)
By the time the heat came,
a new landscape
was emerging
- inside and out -
from the fire of our spirits.
Small frogs greeted me,
as if foretelling
unanticipated abundance.
Wind sang through the chimes.
Perhaps the sacrifices will not be as harsh
as we fear.
Already the mushrooms and microbes are weaving tales.
..........................
In the middle of the morning on Friday 7 May a severe storm (hurricane/tornado mix) hit Greenwood forest where I live. It took us 3 days to clear the forest roads out, 10 days to have electricity restored, and 21 days for phone service to resume. No-one and no abodes were damaged but we lost many of our elder trees. This poem attempts to describe this elemental and unexpected experience.
Images
Eye of the storm: The image above was taken during the storm, looking through a cabin window.
Grandmother Oak: Below is the largest tree on our property - a white oak - as she was before the storm. Then as she was after the storm, fallen to her knees over the platform we have used for short 'vision quests' under her watchful eye.
Frog - possibly Southern Leopard frog.
Edible 'Chicken of the woods' mushroom.
A tangle of trees.
Landscaping around the stump of a beloved tree, lots of firewood, heart rock.
All images taken by Sulis (Sara Firman)
