I am scrolling through news of the tragic aftermath of the atmospheric river that deluged much of BC, destroying lives, livelihoods, homes, and infrastructure.
I am sitting at my desk looking out at the autumn-naked branches of the trees that line the river.
And I think about the pain thy must feel at the loss of their brothers and sisters this past summer as wildfires swept through BC’s interior.
And I wonder if they are hurting now in the sadness of knowing many of their sisters and brothers were swept in the storm’s wake — and how, if they could only have stood their ground against the fires, some of what happened might not have been.
I am breathing into the trees this morning. Breathing and listening, deeply, to their pain and what they have to say.
In The Language Of Trees by Louise Gallagher The language of trees lays buried deep within their roots digging into the earth stretching their arms in search of whispers of life within the cracks and crevices of time lying still beneath Mother Nature’s soiled covers. The language of trees is felt rising up through crenellated bark and rugged trunks standing tall against the wind hurling obscenities at their unwillingness to give up ground to its demands. The language of trees is heard deep within the sibilant whispers of its leaves telling stories to the birds and bees and scampering squirrels who clamber along its branches in search of place to hide through winter’s storms. The language of trees is written everywhere. We must listen before it’s too late to hear their roots calling us to help them stay grounded.
Dare Boldly 
Your poem feels like a deep beautiful experience to read 💛
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I am so grateful you feel that Prahalbha. ❤
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Bloody nice indeed
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Thank you my friend. ❤
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Every tree has a lifetime story to tell … the imagery through your poem is superb Louise… I’ll suggest a little book for you to read, I think you might appreciate the story …
https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/c-faherty-brown/the-sentinel/paperback/product-1kweqd8e.html?page=1&pageSize=4
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What a wonderful suggestion Ivor! It looks beautiful! I’ve ordered a copy. ❤ It will hopefully arrive by Christmas.
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Wonderful… it’s a relatively small book 📖 with a big story 😊🌏
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It is disheartening to see the absolute devastation in the plains area. The human death toll surprisingly has been quite low and given the suddenness of the mud slides etc it could have been quite high. The amount of dairy cows, pigs and poultry dead will have a huge impact on the price and availability of meat and milk. I feel so bad for the dairy farmers – it takes decades to build up a good herd.
Yes the trees and the earth are talking to us. Are we listening?
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Like you Bernie, I am surprised and relieved to see few humans lost their lives (and sad that some did) — the devastation and loss of animal life are horrendous. I have had to stop watching the videos of cows and other animals being rescued by so many brave, caring volunteers — I just keep crying and feeling helpless when I watch.
I do hope we all listen deeply to what they have to say. We need them to survive so we can too.
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“ We must listen
before it’s too late
to hear
their roots calling us
to help them
stay grounded.”
I felt that in my bones. Thanks for sharing, Louise.
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Thank you for visiting and commenting Avery. So lovely to see you here! ❤
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