It’s the trees that make me cry
more than anything.
The hemlock stands strong
with its twigs of green and cones
until the last moment
when snow hides the earth
and deer eat the branches bare.
The red cedar stands alone
in fields long abandoned.
Slow but steady it grows
Only to be chopped for chests and posts.
The blue spruce lives long,
valued for its beauty,
but outgrows its friends
well after they are gone.
The red pine feeds mice and birds of song,
but, in eating the seeds,
these creatures devour descendents.
The catalpa with its beans
would seem exempt from my sorrow,
but it too has flowers that quickly fade.
The syrup maple is kind with abundance,
and thus has its sweet sap stolen
before it ever has a taste of itself.
The reason, my friend, these wood entities
bring such strife and pain
is because of the human struggle they endure.
Mankind inflicts the destruction,
and suffers the denouement.
(Image is of the author)
Saragun Springs 
Jordan Eve
I invest trees with souls myself. I imagine the world must unfurl slowly to that sort of consciousness. Also, they must arrive at some sort of settlement with the concept of fear, being they cannot flee.
Well done, in your own voice, natural like E. Dickenson.
Leila
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Jordan Eve
The character of Gandalf is based on the character of Merlin and deep historical research has proved that, at one point, Merlin was a real person – and he was a nature poet, not a wizard. Or, he was a nature poet first, and a wizard secondarily.
And Merlin had a sister named Gwedryn. She too was a real person, and she too was a nature poet first and foremost and a female wizard secondarily – she, like Merlin, got her wizard powers from being a nature poet, and she always considered herself, first and foremost, as a nature poet.
Nature poetry is the most ancient kind of verse-making, perhaps, and there are all kinds of signs that it will be the last kind of poetry, as well.
You enter the fray wonderfully well in “These Wood Entities.” The title has a kind of ancient feel to it. Also, your use of enjambment helps the lines come alive. Leila’s reference to Emily D. is also perfect!
Dale
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A nature poem with a sincere message. Very nice.
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Trees here imbued with a life much greater than would be the case were it some wistful evocation. ‘The red cedar stands alone / in fields long abandoned.’ One of many beautiful lines. Tender & powerful.
Geraint
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A superb tribute to the trees. The poor trees suffer so much at the hands of humans. Crimes are committed every day on a mass scale against the forest.
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