At Least among the Redwoods
“Man is somehow out of place in
‘the brotherhood of venerable trees’[1]
Yet they are meaningless without at least his absence.”
~ R. H. Blyth, Haiku, Autumn – Summer, volume 3, p. 842
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Among the brotherhood of ancient trees
A fact unknowable is almost found.
It almost is discovered in the breeze
That worships something near the quiet ground,
Unnoticed there but fragrant in the air
That passes by sky’s branches, needled green,
And takes from them a scent quite like despair
And hope combined, though spiritually clean.
The fact is nearly knowable among
The venerable redwood monks, and yet
Is meaningless without a chanting tongue
To breathe it. There is something like a debt
Until a man or woman comes. At least
A meaning hides without a missing priest.
[1] Wordsworth in “Sonnet Composed at–Castle”