By Gala
Date: 2 September 2000
Fire In The Pine Barrens
The scrub pine is purely a miracle
evolution at it's very finest,
small and gnarled
it grows in sand,
survives flood and fire---
and adapted to millenium
of lightning fires
by holding back it's seed
until it is singed
by active flame.
No fire, no life---
that simple.
People are not trees,
but I have been the scrub pine,
and now you wait
for the last lick of flame
to take the last step
that will force open
your seed,
and the rain
that will carry
all that you are
to fresh soil,
new roots
and something verdant green---
a stark contrast to the char
it took to make the miracle
happen for your heart.
Back to the Heart-on-Sleeve Corner