General Poetry posted March 29, 2016 |
Brown burial in blue box.
Blue Coffin
by Sis Cat
|
Recognized |
I wish I was making this up, but I am not. Right now, the largest insect infestation in recorded human history is killing forests throughout America and the world. In the past, long cold winters killed off bark beetles, but now the winters are so short and warm due to climate change that the beetles thrive year around, decimating forests.
The beetles carry a fungus that dyes the wood blue as it is converted into food for the larvae. Drought has weakened the trees so they are unable to produce sap to drown the beetles. As a result, the fungus kills the tree within two to four weeks.
Billions of trees have died so far--entire forests. Some entrepreneurs came up with the idea of recycling the dead trees by building coffins out of the unnaturally, blue-stained wood: http://www.naturescasket.com/Ornate.html
The opening line of my poem is inspired by the closing line of the opening paragraph of Maddie Oatman's May/June 2015 article in Mother Jones, "Bark Beetles Are Decimating Our Forests": "There's no scent of pine needles, no sharp, minty note wafting through the brisk fall air." I structured the poem with each five-line stanza addressing one of the five human senses: smell, sound, sight, taste, and touch. The sixth stanza addresses thought.
I thank lightink, catch22, and TAB who suggested edits in the workshop, and rama devi, SweetLinda, michaelcahill, and I Am Cat who provided encouragement.
The closing image is of Colorado's Never Summer Mountains whose forest the bark beetles have decimated.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. The beetles carry a fungus that dyes the wood blue as it is converted into food for the larvae. Drought has weakened the trees so they are unable to produce sap to drown the beetles. As a result, the fungus kills the tree within two to four weeks.
Billions of trees have died so far--entire forests. Some entrepreneurs came up with the idea of recycling the dead trees by building coffins out of the unnaturally, blue-stained wood: http://www.naturescasket.com/Ornate.html
The opening line of my poem is inspired by the closing line of the opening paragraph of Maddie Oatman's May/June 2015 article in Mother Jones, "Bark Beetles Are Decimating Our Forests": "There's no scent of pine needles, no sharp, minty note wafting through the brisk fall air." I structured the poem with each five-line stanza addressing one of the five human senses: smell, sound, sight, taste, and touch. The sixth stanza addresses thought.
I thank lightink, catch22, and TAB who suggested edits in the workshop, and rama devi, SweetLinda, michaelcahill, and I Am Cat who provided encouragement.
The closing image is of Colorado's Never Summer Mountains whose forest the bark beetles have decimated.
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