This Is Why I Care
Looking and Wandering
I care because you showed me that when you stick to something you believe in you can achieve it Like when loggers came to cut you down you still stood tall and proud You believed that one day you would be able to live calmly for the rest of your life This is why you give me hope that one day the world can live in peace
Looking above the skies tall red trees the size of flowers filled with life and knowledge wisdom created from years of living
I care because you showed me love by educating me about your life every time I visited your home with red cat-scratched walls and more than enough room for everyone You even showed me the wildlife living in your cool and shady habitat and told me stories about a time when lumber companies wanted you for themselves but not alive
Wondering scratching my head, thinking why these animals call this tree their home little blue birds, black stinky skunks, tiny insects running around, knowing they are safe Looking sun trying to pass through leaves leaves letting water splash down to roots birds flying to perch on branches toward a place to rest, knowing it is free
That is why I care
Wondering how life began for the redwood a little baby seed, under the sun green needles sprouting to life day by day, year by year, growing and growing
by Manuel Gonzalez Wilderness Arts and Literacy Collaborative, a League Education Grantee
by Tung Nguyen Wilderness Arts and Literacy Collaborative, a League Education Grantee
Redwood Trees Strolling step by step through never-ending paths of redwood trees Enduring frigid chills up and down my spine in shade these sky scrapers provide for plants below Hiking in brisk dimness away from lethal rays Amazed at how these lofty, long-living trees mold their bodies into one I meander past one tree after another these grand invincible beings who survive sever burns yet stay durable Standing tall above others or lying comfortably in the dirt redwood trees remain redwood trees gigantic, ascendant, sheltering by Shirley Ma Wilderness Arts and Literacy Collaborative, a League Education Grantee
oh that i might shortly go beneath arching crown and shade below to massive, ageless, mystic trees oh dear god, the redwoods please by Rachel Clark, 2010 Moscow, ID
The Patience of Redwoods
Reverence for Redwoods
so graceful the seed that carries the leaves that live in the clouds above you and me
Sun filtered through trees Ancient Warriors standing tall “Wolf Tree” born with Christ
so care free the branches that blow in the breeze that sway with the sound of these dancing leaves such a wonder, how high these leaves can see all the birds, all the distance every little creeping thing such patience, the roots the trunk, and the rings generations, take heed listen to what it means no storm can weather no river, no stream can wash away forever you can see it in the trees by Wesley John Greco, 2009 as seen on www.facebook.com/wgreco
Bark twelve inches thick Shields from lightning storm and fire Lives through nature’s wrath Redwood trees endure Free from human’s grasping hands Guardians of earth Spirits live through time Silent harbingers of peace Hope for humankind by Nikki King * “Wolf Tree” is the name of a one thousand year old redwood tree that lives in the Mendocino Forest
A Night in the Redwoods The perfect campsite is all about trees Towering redwoods can minimize degrees We feel cradled and safe when they surround us Their beauty and statue is simply stupendous Amazing that from a tiny cone comes a seed That in many years yields a giant indeed The mighty redwoods thrill me to the core They're stately pillars that hold high Heaven's floor It touches my soul to witness shafts of light That filter through the forest, what a grand sight With the breeze on my face and the wind at my back It makes me feel that there's nothing I lack A crackling fire does more than warmth give The sight and smell of it gives us reason to live When we're by the campfire and away from strife We exclaim many times, "This is how to live life!" When breakfast sizzles and coffee brews on the stove The aroma of it meanders all through the grove There is just nothing tastier than camp cooked food Nothing more delicious to alter one's mood After a night in the forest, we feel strong as a redwood Now we can get back to those duties we should Life looks different somehow from above Peace is restored and strength we have more of Recalling the memories of camps in the past Gives me fodder for daydreams that is sure to last My heart, like embers in the campfire, glows And my soul is content from my head to my toes by Marsha Lewis, 2009
The Semperviren Environ
A Tree
As rain gives way to sun in May From the sea ne'r far away brewin' offshore is nature's tea A sailor's curse night and day
A tree here, will sprout today Emerging upward, on its way
Onshore winds blowin' misty quen-cha flora thirsty Foggy nectar cools the clime as tree tops high sway-a bit, tipsy
Ingrained strength tells its fate Centuries of growth to celebrate
Found under this canopy sublime duff and litter succumb to slime Here in shade with little sun fires burn cool from time to time
In your eminence a natural wonder You grace us with shade found under
Lee-side of a coastal canyon Stream-side of a salmon run It's here and only here don't you know In a semperviren environ The World's Tallest Trees Do Grow by Clayton Robbins, 2009
From rich loam of Mother Earth The radiant sun, invokes birth Up from its dark moist womb Life begins with modest bloom
The sprout aspires ever higher In soil enriched by flood & fire Rise gloriously tall, Your Majesty Here proudly rooted for all to see
Live on in forests, forever more In your ascension, Our spirits soar! by Clayton Robbins, 2009
A Leaf
A Creek
A leaf here, will fall today Gently towards its decay
A creek here, flows along Eternally singing her song
Born from their stems Hung from tree limbs
Born from yon mountain She springs forth a fountain
They adorn each twig Some small, some big
Her surface a mirror to trees Needled or laden with leaves
A tree they nourish Will naturally flourish
In winter her banks do strain From generous a deposit of rain
They've done their all Whence comes their fall
Come summer, her rhythm slows In dulcet tones, she gently flows
Some fancy to roam On their way to loam
It's, peace and serenity I seek Whilst in the company of a creek
Some rustle under feet Others color your street
by Clayton Robbins, April 2010
Gold, red, green & yellow Some bright, some mellow Their destiny, since birth Is to soil Our Mother Earth by Clayton Robbins, 2009 inspired by Big Leaf Maples (a companion to Sempervirens) & Mary Ann Sanneman
The Redwood Tree Silence beckons me as I ponder in awe The sheer magnitude of strength that towers above me I stand silenced as I take a deep breath My head is filled with the scent of lemon and pine I close my eyes; I never want to forget this moment I’ve left the earth as I’ve known it And entered a magical land from long, long ago As I reverently approach a nearby giant I reach out my hand to place it on the burned scared mark Ancient scars of history are written there, etched within the bark I reflect on all this living giant has endured, century after century A thousand years, some, a few, for over two thousand And yet, they remain, tall, steadfast and true You can almost hear them laughing As they tell of all they’ve been through I look up as I must, to the canopy above me Like a beautifully painted cathedral window Redwood branches filter the suns rays With thousands of beaming streams of light Reaching down to me through the trees embrace Like a gentle tap on my shoulder I realize the quiet existence that surrounds me The quiet causes me to ponder my own life’s journey New feelings are brought forth… I listen So still, so tranquil, and yet, so predominant So much time spent looking up…to come upon one fallen I reach my hand to touch the roots of this resting giant Roots that intertwined with the roots of its family Intertwined to find strength from those it was closest to Gathering strength to withstand, holding on together… I cried when I entered the Redwood forest When I thought about all these masterpieces had endured When I witnessed the strength there When I experienced… The Redwood Tree by Susan Heeren, Overland Park, Kansas composed during a visit to the coast redwoods in Fall 2010
I hear the birds I see the squirrels And enjoy the sounds And sights of nature As I go around the bend, I see a grove of trees. Tall and majestic, I walk toward it, Crunching the leaves and sending an aroma swirling behind me. When I get to the center I am in my own place, My own forest, My own world. Around me there are six trees Grown from one fallen, Knights guarding their king. Saplings grow between them, Like children awakening in wonder. There is a whole kingdom here, And many stories to read. by Julianna, participant in the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s 2010 summer camp, which was held in the redwoods and sponsored by the League’s Education Grants Program.
A Bench A bench here; invites pause Rest a spell, forget the cause Un-laden thy feet, for a bit Have this minute, a respite Deep breath, the fragrant fare Drown in richly textured air Listen while you’re sitting Sensing, what you’re missing Peaceful tones here are found A forest quiet, is welcome sound High above this leaf torn sky Hark, a Red-tail’s forlorn cry Senses forsaken, here awaken, This is; ‘Natural-Detoxification’! by Clayton Robbins | © 2010 written while sitting on a bench at Muir Woods, in his 'nature-hood'
Where I Go With feet treading the brown Woodsy smell from the rug, I know that I am close. It’s where I always go When my mind feels the tug For quiet, to lie down. Down a hidden pathway, I slip through limbs of trees Beneath a lone redwood In a patch of shamrocks So thick I lose my knees And any words to say. Say “beautiful.” It won’t Be enough to tell how Bark red as cinnamon, Fragrant as baking fall, Intoxicate me now. I’ve come where troubles don’t. by Phoebe Au-Yeung | © 2012 written about her favorite place, which is underneath a redwood tree in a park near home
Redwood Forest, love you so. Please don't leave, or die, or go. If you do I will sadly cry. That’s why you shouldn’t leave or die. by Samantha Weiss | © 2012 4th Grade, Texas
After the Redwoods
Within the Redwoods
They were here I can feel them a great gentleness bear and bison elk and deer turtle and seals plover and whale what I cannot know as they swam through a sea of grass through a sea of trees through a sea of oceans through sand and fog dense winds I can feel them where I never was where I cannot go.
They carry the cries of seals and hold the cormorants and the sea fog within them. If I am very quiet and enter their deep silence they will speak. Like the owl who warns in its silent eyes they will see me and they will let me be with them because all their lives are old and young as they fall with the wind and renew their being. They are always still and always becoming and speak among themselves and you may listen. Hear O world Hear eternities as they fall with the wind and grow with fire and return and listen.
by Carol Snyder Halberstadt | Š July 26, 2011
by Carol Snyder Halberstadt | Š July 23, 2011
Sequoias
Eyes Should Look
What do the oldest trees remember? What do their seedlings think? Here in two pots on my porch for a moment they will never be what they should. I would plant them in the sun in the ground on the drying drowning world and they would uproot the foundations of stone and the pipes of sewers and their arms would pull down wires and cables and the sky would clear as they breathed in the irony of how they came here and the strangeness of what we are…
Eyes should look into the distance sometimes, without doing anything. It rests them. We should have the light while we can and let the trees be over us. We should be sheltered when the sky and seas are raging in November and the warming and chill are here. We should hold life together. Let the gold and the rust at the tips of branches brush us. Let us be candles beneath them.
by Carol Snyder Halberstadt | © May 31, 2012
by Carol Snyder Halberstadt | © Nov. 28, 2013
The Spotted Owl Strange how the bird visits near the house at mid-day perched on a redwood’s limb that bends beneath its weight. The sun’s rays shatter in their fall through needles blanketing the owl in dark and light patterns the dappling repeated in a camouflage of feathers. The owl has not been seen here before though it may have come at night, unnoticed, a nocturnal bird seldom seen during day. Its coloration designed for deep woods where the sun filters through an overstory of huge old growth redwoods and firs, disappears in tanoaks and madrones the forest on steep terrain falling away to a stream. This is the home of the bird. But now perhaps the owl has reason to choose close contact with humans. The big trees on the slope above the creek were recently cut the understory of hardwoods knocked down sun flooding the ground of a once shadowed forest. Conversion of habitat. The owl is deprived of cover no longer supported by its environment. Change provides instead
a place of openness accommodating another raptor. One much larger, the Great Horned Owl named for the tufts of feathers on its head and capable of taking swans for its prey it is the enemy of the smaller owl. The patchwork of clearings the stumps of logged-over land offer no protection from the kill. A small grove of large redwoods remains on adjacent property and near a house. The owl stares silently from the roundness of its feathered head. In the damage done there is no escape no safety, nor food, in the few perimeter trees. I look into the dark caves of the owl’s eyes at all that is left of retreat and feel my hold fastened on the earth the clasp of talons on the limb broken. by Sarah Cain Flower | © 2007 A poem from “A Solitary Harmony” Printed at Classic Letterpress (Oakland, CA)
THE NOYO RIDGE RABBIT exists Yes in all the glory size & purpose of a grand person he reared in the road five feet (No – he did not have a vest & watch chain) he turned vanished into stunned twilight she knew she was not to be believed others had seen him from time to time others with suspect histories & conditions of tampered consciousness only when the canyon’s most sober alpha male (& a logger) saw this procession of one would he really be real & to some not even then but even so all these years the woods hold magic & giant hares who bound over ridges like young ponies who snooze under apple trees seek the river raid your garden your Brussels sprouts your heirloom tomatoes all plundered but even so his spirit goes with each one of us past & to come when we run run up that great hill of light redwood seedlings garlanding our stride In Memoriam – Matt Coleman Jere Melo Fort Bragg – Fall Equinox 2011 Mary Norbert Korte