Member Poem

Under the seething heat of the sun
A juniper stands on a dry hill
Like so many surrounding him
He was burned to death by a wildfire

His twisted branches are smoky white
Still reaching out for all the heavens
In botanical rigor mortis
Commemorating desperation

He is a skeleton of a tree
A standing corpse in desert sunlight
Never to drink another raindrop
As dry as the earth that hold his roots

I step closer to this juniper
Small clouds of dust kicked up by my feet
I gently touch his bark and wonder
How long until his form break apart