(The Language of Trees)
Under this exterior, carved into the trunk,
Water transport—a hardwood canoe,
That once carried us far, a true breakthrough,
Transporting the merchants, and maybe a monk.
The finding’s age, like a pyramid,
Shows humans were in the New World….
Such a story, yet to be heard,
Our ancestors’ notion may be inherited.
Such is the treasure in old trees,
A story, a pattern now to tell,
Unlocking history with old keys.
For it was here that it fell,
The curiosity within I can appease,
As historians’ views continue to yell.
Francis Conlon is a retired and recovering teacher. For the past 20 years, he has worked as a seasonal river ranger and boat inspector at Yampa River State Park in northwest Colorado. He has published in the local Valley Voice and in Westward Quarterly. He currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.