Trees In Winter Poem by David G Allen

TREES IN WINTER
By David Allen

Winter reveals
the trees' inner nature.
like x-rays showing
their intricate systems
spread out like veins,
nerves and bones.
No leaves to mask their age.
Young trees, slender branches
lifting straight into the sky,
as if in prayer or celebration.
Older trees, thicker branches,
some bowed, knotty, amputations,
arteries eaten by unseen invaders;
in their upper reaches, squirrel and bird
nests appear as cancerous growths.
And then there are the dead trees,
obese, torn trunks, bark-like peeling skin,
branches akimbo, some detached,
resting in their neighbor's arms.
Like monuments, crosses,
these trees tell a tale of the final days,
the ravaging we all face in the end.