Old Tree Healing

by Taiko Haessler

Lightning curls around the trunk of Old Tree.

Sap curdles close to the chestnut heart—

Knots and joints twist with electricity in the night air.

The strike retreats to the whirling sky,

powerless against charred black clouds

reeling it in.

Blackened skin peels away

revealing bright Green underneath . . .

Roots shiver into earth.

Quiet night, last whisper of storm fades.

Lightning, ashamed of what it's done,

Ghosts into death–blind, silent.

Old Tree sends its sap to sing in the calm

After the torment.