I have always wanted to see one,
tree trunks turned to stone-
scared silly by time,
maybe helped a little
by that big volcano over there.
Just imagine how frightened
those poor pine trees were.
Ah, those family stories: “I heard
Uncle Harry was scared stiff.”
“Turned hard as a rock, did he?”
“Joe’s sapling got stoned.”
Of course, there is nothing
that says the forest saw it coming.
You know, the whole “Can’t see
through all the trees” adage.
Trees like metaphors.
I just wish they could have
left a clue about what
was really rustling their branches.
Maybe they would have thought it
a better death if they had
ever seen a chain saw.
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