Who Speaks for the Trees

By Reagan Gorham

I do not claim to be a saint, I do not deny the fact that I’ve lied, I’ve harmed, I’ve cheated, but I am not a thief.

But you have the right, so you start the rite of passage your kind undergoes. The first theft. The first inkling that you can simply blow past a stop sign. There is something you want inches from your hand. There are sounds around you but you do not listen. You tune out the noise so you can focus. There is something you want inches from your hand.

How easily do you break?

Who believes that the tree fell in the forest? I didn’t see it. I didn’t hear a sound. Where’s the proof? Give me the DNA evidence. Send the witnesses to the stand. Did that tree fall the other day? How would we know, said the jury. We didn’t hear a sound. Did he cut down any other trees? Maybe, but we can’t be sure. Yes, he owns an ax, but owning a weapon doesn’t make you a murderer; besides, he’s been in that forest before, and he’s never been caught logging. Your honor, I can attest to his character, he’s never said an unkind word to me or anyone I know. Your honor, I swear my client never touched a thing. All signs point to a mystery, it seems. I suppose we’ll never know, since a tree cannot speak.

REAGAN GORHAM is a sophomore Writing Studies major attending Millersville University. She has previously attended Roanoke College, where she studied as a Creative Writing major. Storytelling has been her passion since she was seven years old, and she hopes to use her writing to make a positive change in the world, no matter how small.