Poem: "A Tree’s Way Back into the Ground"
Dec. 24th, 2021 07:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem was written outside the regular prompt calls. It fills the "Deer" square in my 12-1-21 card for the Winter Fest Bingo. It has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. This poem belongs to the Officer Pink thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
"A Tree’s Way Back into the Ground"
[Wednesday, April 22, 2015, Earth Day]
For Earth Day, Ansel and Turq
went out to the family farm.
Conrad had ordered a batch
of oak saplings as well as
blackberries and gooseberries
to put around the new grove.
One of the straw bale outhouses
had filled up, and it was old enough
that he wanted to put a new one
nearby instead of in the same place.
The old straw bale had been
broken up for compost and
would provide plenty of fertilizer.
When Ansel and Turq arrived,
they found people clustered
around a pickup truck from
the local farm store, loaded
with baby trees and bushes.
Garth Allen was unloading
the saplings into a farm wagon
with Pride hitched to the front,
so it could be hauled to the field.
Several of the centaurs clustered
around the wagon and the trees.
Ansel recognized Charli, Dodge,
Harriet, and Michann. Arun was
there too, but he stood way back on
the grass because of his tender feet.
"What kind of trees are these?"
Charli asked Conrad. "I'm a city girl,
so I don't know all the names yet."
"These are oak trees, like those
over there." Conrad pointed where
some trees made a windbreak for
the garden. "They grow from these."
He showed her a handful of nuts.
"Those great big trees come from
those tiny little seeds?" Charli said.
"Oak trees come out of acorns,
no matter how unlikely that seems,"
Conrad said. "See, an acorn is just
a tree’s way back into the ground.
For another try. Another trip through.
One life for another." He waved at
the farm. "That's how nature works.
Everything goes round and round,
nothing ever really gets lost."
"Like yin and yang," Turq said.
"An oak tree holds acorns, and
each acorn holds an oak tree."
"If the squirrels don't eat it first,"
Conrad said, laughing. "Now, I got
a good mix of sweet and bitter types.
There's Comptons, Manna, and
Lint White for the sweet acorns.
Red Willow and Dwarf Chinkapin
have bitter acorns. That will give
good eating without leaving
all the oak trees defenseless."
"Is that why you got thornbushes,
to put around the trees?" Dodge said.
"Got it in one, smart girl!" said Conrad.
"Each sapling gets its own wrapper, and
the thornbushes go around the oak grove.
We'll put up a fence for the first few years
to keep horses and deer away, too."
"Why put trees in the pasture?"
said Charli. "I thought horses
ate grass instead of trees."
"Well, we got goats too, but
horses will browse a bit on
tender leaves," said Conrad.
"Mostly these are for shade."
"It gets hot out there in summer,"
said Harriet. "I've seen horses
standing head to tail under trees."
"I think they do that to keep away
from the flies," said Michann.
"That's right," Conrad said.
"So I make sure the horses
have plenty of shade. When
a tree comes down in a storm,
or gets to killing the grass, then
I can cut it up for firewood."
"If you need help with that,
you know where to find me,"
Oscar said, raising a hand.
Ansel looked over and
spotted him standing with
a few other veterans.
The other cluster of
people he didn't know --
a white woman, a black man,
and a little black girl -- so
he went over to them.
"Hi, I'm Ansel, one of
Conrad's many grandkids,"
he said. "My friend Turq
and I came out to help
with Earth Day planting."
"So did we," said the woman.
"I'm Chloe Solon, here with
the Way Back Program. This
is my prize student Tavon Garner
and his daughter Cheeta."
"Oh, what classes have you
taken?" Ansel said to Tavon.
"Mostly first aid -- physical
and emotional -- and fitness,"
Tavon said. "I'm also working
in the prison's organic garden.
I'd like to get a job in landscaping
or something like that when I get out."
"Good idea, there's always work
in that around here," Ansel said.
"Why's your hair pink?" said Cheeta.
"And why's that guy got blue?"
"Well, we're soups," said Ansel.
"I got mine done on purpose, but
Turq didn't ask for his, so please
don't pester him about that."
"I swear, I taught her better
than this," Tavon muttered.
"It's okay, I do public outreach,
I'm used to it," Ansel said. "Turq
and the centaurs aren't, though,
so we need to be gentle with them."
"My great-grandma was a super,"
said Cheeta. "I'm named for her."
"That's a fine name," Ansel said.
"Hey, do you mean Chitawa? I've
read about her, very exciting."
"That's her!" Cheeta said,
bouncing up and down.
Tavon was staring at Ansel.
"How'd you find that?" he said.
"My brother-in-law Jermaine gave
me a book on famous black soups
when he heard I was studying
superpowers," said Ansel.
"I wasn't really much into
reading until I landed in
prison," Tavon admitted.
"But the classes there were
better and got me interested,
so I've learned a lot more since."
"That's good," said Ansel. "I hope
you do better once you get out."
"Two more months," Tavon said.
"That's why they're sending me
out on more field trips now."
"Volunteering is a good way
to reconnect," Ansel said.
"We can sure use the help."
He'd planted trees before,
and it was a lot of work if you
did it right, especially when
you had to hack through clay.
"You ready?" Conrad called,
looking at the small crowd.
"I always try to be ready,"
Dodge said. "Let's go."
"Are you coming with us?"
Ansel asked Arun.
"No, my feet hurt,"
said Arun. "I just
wanted to see how
the little trees looked."
"We can bring pictures
of the new grove after we
plant it," Turq offered.
"I'd like that," Arun said.
Conrad opened the gate
and let everyone into
the pasture, then led
Pride to the field where
the straw bale had been.
There was little left of it
except a broad patch of
brown and yellow crumbles
surrounded by grass that
was starting to turn green.
"All right, shovel team first,"
said Conrad. "We want
to turn over the soil across
this whole area, then dig
holes for the saplings."
Michann and Dodge
grabbed shovels, along
with Tavon, Oscar, Garth,
and Ansel himself.
Dodge struggled
to figure out how
to work the shovel
with her hooves.
Finally she swore
and stabbed it
at the ground.
The blade sank
all the way in.
"You're stronger
than you used to be,"
Conrad said. "Just
use your arms for now.
We'll see about making
a centaur shovel later."
Charli sighed. "So much
stuff doesn't work for us."
"It'll work, some things just
need adjusting," said Conrad.
The diggers went to work.
At least the ground was soft
from a recent rain, but not
too muddy to deal with.
They got the ground
turned and the holes dug.
"Planters, pick a tree,"
Garth said, beckoning.
"You pick," Ansel said
as he turned to Turq.
"I'll take one of these,"
Turq said as he picked up
one of the Red Willow Oaks.
"Why that kind?" Ansel said.
"I thought you'd go for sweet."
"I keep wanting to eat those,"
Turq whispered. "I can smell
the difference. They don't
have hardly any tannin."
"No nibbling until after
the fence comes down,"
Ansel said, nodding.
All the sweet oaks went
into the center of the grove,
surrounded by Red Willows.
Ansel held the slim sapling
in place while Turq pushed
the soil into place around it,
dusting in a little bone meal.
They made a berm at the edge
to collect water for the roots,
then set up supporting stakes.
A tree wrap protected the trunk
from hungry rabbits and mice.
Then the Dwarf Chinkapins
went in around the Red Willows.
"These are shorter, more like
big shrubs than full-size trees,"
Conrad explained. "So the grove
will have tall sweet oaks in the center,
then bitter oaks and shrub oaks, and
so on down the thornbushes outside."
Ansel and Turq moved to help Charli,
who was working on the Chinkapins.
"How long will it take to get acorns?"
Charli asked as she put a tree in its hole.
"That depends on the tree," said Conrad.
"Often it takes twenty-five to thirty years.
Lints are precocious, though, they start
in six to ten years. Chinkapins can
beat even that, some of them."
"But thirty years for the others --
that's twice my age!" Charli said.
"Why plant something that takes
so long before it does any good?"
"Because oak trees live for centuries,"
Conrad said. "These little saplings will
live long after I'm gone, making shade
for my many-times-great-grandchildren.
Besides, they already have leaves, and
lots of caterpillars love to eat oaks."
"That's right," said Garth. "Oaks have
the highest number of species that
depend on them for food -- over
nine hundred kinds of caterpillars,
dozens of birds and mammals."
"Acorns are tasty," said Turq.
"Deer love them, but so do people."
"Most acorns need a lot of soaking
to get the tannins out, but sweet acorns
need less, or even none," said Oscar.
"They make a great survival food."
Ansel had seen recipes for
acorn cookies before. Maybe
he could surprise Turq with some.
"Let's get the berry bushes in
the ground instead of counting
our acorns before they sprout,"
Conrad said. "Here we've got
blackberries and gooseberries."
"Yipe! These things are sharp!"
Cheeta said, backing away.
"That's why you have gloves,"
Tavon reminded her. "Berries
need lots of protection, that's
why the bushes have thorns."
"Just be gentle with the bushes,"
said Chloe. "It's good practice
for being gentle with the berries."
"Planting thornbushes around
the oak grove will help protect
the saplings from horses and
deer nibbling them," said Garth.
"That way, they won't need
a fence as long," said Conrad.
"And we get berries!" Cheeta said.
"Blackberry leaves are good for
making tea, too," said Turq. "I know
someone who ferments them to blend
with peppermint, chamomile, and linden
along with several kinds of dried berries.
Marjoram calls it Berry Good Dreams."
Ansel felt grateful for the heavy gloves
as they maneuvered thorny plants
into the waiting holes. They looked
like dead brown sticks, but he knew
the buds would soon leaf out.
Once the berry bushes were
all planted and patted down,
Garth broke open fresh bales
of straw to spread as mulch.
Michann, Oscar, and Tavon dug
most of the holes for the fence.
Ansel and Turq helped unroll
the wire mesh while Dodge and
Harriet tacked it to the posts
to keep out horses and deer.
A soft spring breeze ruffled
the green leaves of the trees.
"It feels good plant things that
will live for so many years,"
Turq said. "I like knowing
that these oaks be here
long after I'm gone, leaving
acorns for the other deer."
Ansel smiled. "Me too,"
he said. "Even if an acorn
is just a tree's way back into
the ground. Life goes on."
Shadows shifted in the brush
not far away, and Ansel thought
he caught a glimpse of a deer
as it ducked out of sight.
Then Turq's belly grumbled.
"I need to get something to eat,
and these oaks aren't going
to hurry up and feed me."
Conrad laughed. "Let's head
back to the house," he said.
"Norma Jean will have lunch
waiting for all us hard workers."
"Sounds good to me," Turq said.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character, location, and content notes appear separately.
"A Tree’s Way Back into the Ground"
[Wednesday, April 22, 2015, Earth Day]
For Earth Day, Ansel and Turq
went out to the family farm.
Conrad had ordered a batch
of oak saplings as well as
blackberries and gooseberries
to put around the new grove.
One of the straw bale outhouses
had filled up, and it was old enough
that he wanted to put a new one
nearby instead of in the same place.
The old straw bale had been
broken up for compost and
would provide plenty of fertilizer.
When Ansel and Turq arrived,
they found people clustered
around a pickup truck from
the local farm store, loaded
with baby trees and bushes.
Garth Allen was unloading
the saplings into a farm wagon
with Pride hitched to the front,
so it could be hauled to the field.
Several of the centaurs clustered
around the wagon and the trees.
Ansel recognized Charli, Dodge,
Harriet, and Michann. Arun was
there too, but he stood way back on
the grass because of his tender feet.
"What kind of trees are these?"
Charli asked Conrad. "I'm a city girl,
so I don't know all the names yet."
"These are oak trees, like those
over there." Conrad pointed where
some trees made a windbreak for
the garden. "They grow from these."
He showed her a handful of nuts.
"Those great big trees come from
those tiny little seeds?" Charli said.
"Oak trees come out of acorns,
no matter how unlikely that seems,"
Conrad said. "See, an acorn is just
a tree’s way back into the ground.
For another try. Another trip through.
One life for another." He waved at
the farm. "That's how nature works.
Everything goes round and round,
nothing ever really gets lost."
"Like yin and yang," Turq said.
"An oak tree holds acorns, and
each acorn holds an oak tree."
"If the squirrels don't eat it first,"
Conrad said, laughing. "Now, I got
a good mix of sweet and bitter types.
There's Comptons, Manna, and
Lint White for the sweet acorns.
Red Willow and Dwarf Chinkapin
have bitter acorns. That will give
good eating without leaving
all the oak trees defenseless."
"Is that why you got thornbushes,
to put around the trees?" Dodge said.
"Got it in one, smart girl!" said Conrad.
"Each sapling gets its own wrapper, and
the thornbushes go around the oak grove.
We'll put up a fence for the first few years
to keep horses and deer away, too."
"Why put trees in the pasture?"
said Charli. "I thought horses
ate grass instead of trees."
"Well, we got goats too, but
horses will browse a bit on
tender leaves," said Conrad.
"Mostly these are for shade."
"It gets hot out there in summer,"
said Harriet. "I've seen horses
standing head to tail under trees."
"I think they do that to keep away
from the flies," said Michann.
"That's right," Conrad said.
"So I make sure the horses
have plenty of shade. When
a tree comes down in a storm,
or gets to killing the grass, then
I can cut it up for firewood."
"If you need help with that,
you know where to find me,"
Oscar said, raising a hand.
Ansel looked over and
spotted him standing with
a few other veterans.
The other cluster of
people he didn't know --
a white woman, a black man,
and a little black girl -- so
he went over to them.
"Hi, I'm Ansel, one of
Conrad's many grandkids,"
he said. "My friend Turq
and I came out to help
with Earth Day planting."
"So did we," said the woman.
"I'm Chloe Solon, here with
the Way Back Program. This
is my prize student Tavon Garner
and his daughter Cheeta."
"Oh, what classes have you
taken?" Ansel said to Tavon.
"Mostly first aid -- physical
and emotional -- and fitness,"
Tavon said. "I'm also working
in the prison's organic garden.
I'd like to get a job in landscaping
or something like that when I get out."
"Good idea, there's always work
in that around here," Ansel said.
"Why's your hair pink?" said Cheeta.
"And why's that guy got blue?"
"Well, we're soups," said Ansel.
"I got mine done on purpose, but
Turq didn't ask for his, so please
don't pester him about that."
"I swear, I taught her better
than this," Tavon muttered.
"It's okay, I do public outreach,
I'm used to it," Ansel said. "Turq
and the centaurs aren't, though,
so we need to be gentle with them."
"My great-grandma was a super,"
said Cheeta. "I'm named for her."
"That's a fine name," Ansel said.
"Hey, do you mean Chitawa? I've
read about her, very exciting."
"That's her!" Cheeta said,
bouncing up and down.
Tavon was staring at Ansel.
"How'd you find that?" he said.
"My brother-in-law Jermaine gave
me a book on famous black soups
when he heard I was studying
superpowers," said Ansel.
"I wasn't really much into
reading until I landed in
prison," Tavon admitted.
"But the classes there were
better and got me interested,
so I've learned a lot more since."
"That's good," said Ansel. "I hope
you do better once you get out."
"Two more months," Tavon said.
"That's why they're sending me
out on more field trips now."
"Volunteering is a good way
to reconnect," Ansel said.
"We can sure use the help."
He'd planted trees before,
and it was a lot of work if you
did it right, especially when
you had to hack through clay.
"You ready?" Conrad called,
looking at the small crowd.
"I always try to be ready,"
Dodge said. "Let's go."
"Are you coming with us?"
Ansel asked Arun.
"No, my feet hurt,"
said Arun. "I just
wanted to see how
the little trees looked."
"We can bring pictures
of the new grove after we
plant it," Turq offered.
"I'd like that," Arun said.
Conrad opened the gate
and let everyone into
the pasture, then led
Pride to the field where
the straw bale had been.
There was little left of it
except a broad patch of
brown and yellow crumbles
surrounded by grass that
was starting to turn green.
"All right, shovel team first,"
said Conrad. "We want
to turn over the soil across
this whole area, then dig
holes for the saplings."
Michann and Dodge
grabbed shovels, along
with Tavon, Oscar, Garth,
and Ansel himself.
Dodge struggled
to figure out how
to work the shovel
with her hooves.
Finally she swore
and stabbed it
at the ground.
The blade sank
all the way in.
"You're stronger
than you used to be,"
Conrad said. "Just
use your arms for now.
We'll see about making
a centaur shovel later."
Charli sighed. "So much
stuff doesn't work for us."
"It'll work, some things just
need adjusting," said Conrad.
The diggers went to work.
At least the ground was soft
from a recent rain, but not
too muddy to deal with.
They got the ground
turned and the holes dug.
"Planters, pick a tree,"
Garth said, beckoning.
"You pick," Ansel said
as he turned to Turq.
"I'll take one of these,"
Turq said as he picked up
one of the Red Willow Oaks.
"Why that kind?" Ansel said.
"I thought you'd go for sweet."
"I keep wanting to eat those,"
Turq whispered. "I can smell
the difference. They don't
have hardly any tannin."
"No nibbling until after
the fence comes down,"
Ansel said, nodding.
All the sweet oaks went
into the center of the grove,
surrounded by Red Willows.
Ansel held the slim sapling
in place while Turq pushed
the soil into place around it,
dusting in a little bone meal.
They made a berm at the edge
to collect water for the roots,
then set up supporting stakes.
A tree wrap protected the trunk
from hungry rabbits and mice.
Then the Dwarf Chinkapins
went in around the Red Willows.
"These are shorter, more like
big shrubs than full-size trees,"
Conrad explained. "So the grove
will have tall sweet oaks in the center,
then bitter oaks and shrub oaks, and
so on down the thornbushes outside."
Ansel and Turq moved to help Charli,
who was working on the Chinkapins.
"How long will it take to get acorns?"
Charli asked as she put a tree in its hole.
"That depends on the tree," said Conrad.
"Often it takes twenty-five to thirty years.
Lints are precocious, though, they start
in six to ten years. Chinkapins can
beat even that, some of them."
"But thirty years for the others --
that's twice my age!" Charli said.
"Why plant something that takes
so long before it does any good?"
"Because oak trees live for centuries,"
Conrad said. "These little saplings will
live long after I'm gone, making shade
for my many-times-great-grandchildren.
Besides, they already have leaves, and
lots of caterpillars love to eat oaks."
"That's right," said Garth. "Oaks have
the highest number of species that
depend on them for food -- over
nine hundred kinds of caterpillars,
dozens of birds and mammals."
"Acorns are tasty," said Turq.
"Deer love them, but so do people."
"Most acorns need a lot of soaking
to get the tannins out, but sweet acorns
need less, or even none," said Oscar.
"They make a great survival food."
Ansel had seen recipes for
acorn cookies before. Maybe
he could surprise Turq with some.
"Let's get the berry bushes in
the ground instead of counting
our acorns before they sprout,"
Conrad said. "Here we've got
blackberries and gooseberries."
"Yipe! These things are sharp!"
Cheeta said, backing away.
"That's why you have gloves,"
Tavon reminded her. "Berries
need lots of protection, that's
why the bushes have thorns."
"Just be gentle with the bushes,"
said Chloe. "It's good practice
for being gentle with the berries."
"Planting thornbushes around
the oak grove will help protect
the saplings from horses and
deer nibbling them," said Garth.
"That way, they won't need
a fence as long," said Conrad.
"And we get berries!" Cheeta said.
"Blackberry leaves are good for
making tea, too," said Turq. "I know
someone who ferments them to blend
with peppermint, chamomile, and linden
along with several kinds of dried berries.
Marjoram calls it Berry Good Dreams."
Ansel felt grateful for the heavy gloves
as they maneuvered thorny plants
into the waiting holes. They looked
like dead brown sticks, but he knew
the buds would soon leaf out.
Once the berry bushes were
all planted and patted down,
Garth broke open fresh bales
of straw to spread as mulch.
Michann, Oscar, and Tavon dug
most of the holes for the fence.
Ansel and Turq helped unroll
the wire mesh while Dodge and
Harriet tacked it to the posts
to keep out horses and deer.
A soft spring breeze ruffled
the green leaves of the trees.
"It feels good plant things that
will live for so many years,"
Turq said. "I like knowing
that these oaks be here
long after I'm gone, leaving
acorns for the other deer."
Ansel smiled. "Me too,"
he said. "Even if an acorn
is just a tree's way back into
the ground. Life goes on."
Shadows shifted in the brush
not far away, and Ansel thought
he caught a glimpse of a deer
as it ducked out of sight.
Then Turq's belly grumbled.
"I need to get something to eat,
and these oaks aren't going
to hurry up and feed me."
Conrad laughed. "Let's head
back to the house," he said.
"Norma Jean will have lunch
waiting for all us hard workers."
"Sounds good to me," Turq said.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character, location, and content notes appear separately.
