It’s a new year and I have many happy things to look forward to. I hope that’s true for all of you too. I even managed to write a new poem on the first day of the year—I hope it will be the first of many.
I wish you all a Happy, Healthy, New Year, filled with all the things that bring you joy!
The Mighty Have Fallen Two tall pines stood for a hundred years, towering over all, until the night before Christmas eve, when weakened after withstanding so many years of struggle, one succumbed to a wind so mighty even this aged giant could not hold firm against it. A ferocious crack sounded through the howling of the wind, as this guardian of the border snapped at its knees, folding itself over power lines that could barely cradle its weight. The power company sent men to release the tangle of tree and branches, leaving a painful sight of its bones, splintered and spiked; we needed to put it out of its misery. More men came to put the tree to rest; they took his twin too, because we knew he wouldn't survive long without his companion at his side. Now there is a open great space where the pine brothers stood. From a distance their stumps look like elephant feet that were chopped at the ankles. Come closer and the metaphor holds, elephant footprints left to remember them. They say elephants never forget. I don't think I will either.
~Elise Skidmore ©2023
