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The Intention of Trees
- Louisiana State University Press
- Chapter
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31 The Intention of Trees . . . the accents of ignorance sing out. —carol ann duffy After the lumberjacks left, I sawed with my small flashlight through the hills of stumps arranged in lightning. A will of roots still gripped ground, though wishes for tall futures left air. Their pantomime of night at noon will no longer shade our cars. Broken limbs penetrate and sparkle in dark rain as if leaking the desire to hold earth and sky apart. I wonder whether lumberjacks were named for Jack the Giant Killer. With intense bright blades toward wood, axe men found the one mechanism that holds the world in place. Soon gods will butt heads in many storms over our understanding. I pick up one of the last leaves and hear elegies of wind. Remaining chords still ring. Felled branches point like duty to the sky. ...