Shooting straight up into the sky,
the tallest trees in the world
see everything.
They see their kind diminishing
from drought, mega-fires,
real estate development, vineyards.
Between 1850 and 1960,
clear-cutting—
culminating after WWII
by the building industry boom
which decimated these forests
for their durable and beautiful wood.
Only 4% of old-growth redwoods remain.
These trees are Methuselahs,
cathedrals of carbon,
sanctuary for wood warblers,
salamanders, marbled murrelets.
Tight-knit families—fairy rings
of new trees sprouting from parent tree.
Magical, magnificent
in height and breadth,
and magnanimous in restoring life.
A part of the earth we must preserve
if for nothing else
than the awe and tranquility they gift us
when walking underneath
their immense stature.
—
Terri Glass lives among redwood, black bear and elk near the Smith River in northern California. She is the author of 3 books of poetry, the most recent Being Animal from Kelsay Books, a chapbook of haiku, Birds, Bees, Trees, Love, Hee Hee from Finishing Line Press, and an e-book, The Wild Horse of Haiku. Terri teaches with CAL POETS in the Schools and served as their statewide director from 2008 to 2011. See www.terriglass.com
