Painters painting in a row
Where untamed colossuses did once grow.
Redwoods soaring skyward slow.
Giants wild.
Colossuses absent. The painters don't know.
Instead, here roses and here a hedgerow.
But where did the redwoods go?
Giants exiled.
Hints linger from long ago.
They whisper that Big River’s flow
Was choked by redwoods cut low.
Giants reviled.
Corpses in flumes stacked head to toe
Shot down to mills far below
Then planed and stacked row upon row.
Giants compiled.
Today there are no colossuses to show
So perhaps the painting I will forgo
Art can't capture the depth of my woe.
Giants defiled.
Love this post!
ReplyDeleteThank you, e.! I know these more "arty" posts don't lend themselves as much to comments, so it means a lot that you took a moment to give some encouragement.
ReplyDeleteThe beaches when I was a child were stacked with mounds of dead redwoods. There are less carcasses. The logging is less and what there is is less wasteful.
ReplyDeleteAll good points, Kym. And like you, I'm very happy that things have gotten better so that these painters actually have a pretty scene to paint. That said, I can't help but feel sad that it wasn't in time to save more of the amazing giant trees that once grew all over this area. I imagine what this view would have looked like back then, and I feel a little blue missing those enormous redwoods that once would have stood along Big River.
ReplyDeleteWould that be colossi? Just asking.
ReplyDeleteI looked it up before I posted. Both are correct, although colossi is probably more correct, if that makes sense. I chose "colossuses," though, because the four syllables along with the repetition of the "s" sound appealed to me more. A denser word for bigger trees, you know?
ReplyDelete