Nicholas Alexander

History Walk

the walk through the hallows saw storms brought
into gardens that tore limbs from living wood
ancients as large as buildings now lay on fences
cordoned off with tape to keep the public safe
from its own curiousity

when the mess was cleared what was missing
now relied upon memory except for the tree
that was cleaved clean in two. Its left side
was torn asunder by the terrible winds

its right side stood and watched its heart exposed
and the giant Totara that had grown from
a stump from the forgotten ages
perhaps two hundred rings and its entire
root structure lifted history lost