Bring Your Story to the Woods

In my mind the meaning of a poem is only in part what the author set out to say.  The poem's meaning is in its entirety, only revealed through the reader's personal experiences. Take this picture of a tree Wayne and I came across while hiking in Roaring Brook wildlife management area. I stopped the mission in its tracks to evaluate exactly what I was seeing. Wayne on the other hand? Well, let's just say that Wayne is a very patient person with these things.

I first noted the big piece of flat rock to the left of the tree jutting up out of the ground and demanding my closer inspection. "It looks like an old gravestone don't you think?" I observed and then moved in closer to take the picture. I suppose that this was my first response to the scene because I love wandering around in old cemeteries reading epitaphs, admiring craftsmanship and wondering about life stories. Without words carved into them, the flat rock seemed fixed, dark and cold but still something about it suggested that it had a story to tell about the past.

On second glance, I encountered something less peaceful than the first. I witnessed the signs of a struggle with many rocks displaced and forced aside by the Hemlock tree that was growing tall in spite of their weighted complaints. No, this was not a place of final rest; but rather a testament to active, persistent growth over time. "Move aside!" the tree seemed to be saying, "I have a part to tell in this story and it's not over yet."

 Remnants of the Hemlock's trials persist at the tree's base; the rock's objections to the tree's presence made clear.  The root that pushed under and upheaved the rock that first caught my attention now terminates above the ground and I am sure that it will someday give way to the rock. This is not however a picture of a scarred, gnarled and stunted tree, this is a story of endurance and just one of many of your stories waiting for you in the woods. -Norma Manning

This Eastern Hemlock pushed rock aside as it grew, but some roots changed their direction.