The echoes of cypress trees last for hundreds, some thousands.
In some cultures, cypress trees represent immortality, strength, and protection,
to others, mourning and remembrance.

A group of cypress stands proud in a swamp. Their trunk’s towering thickness
holds a cluster of branches high about the murk, immune to high winds and nature’s harshness,
protecting a symbol considered spiritual.

To some, the cypress speaks of immortality, eternal life after death,
souls moving toward the divine kingdom. To some, the cypress expresses sorrow and
melancholy, expresses vulnerability and loneliness in the darkness.

To some, the cypress demonstrates life by its durability and perfect,
ever-present green leaves. To some, the cypress seeds and their yang elements impart endurance.
Still, cypresses are not immortal.

Weathered limbs succumb and drop into the swamp.
Weakened by its weight trunks tilt in saturated soil.
When this hallowed structure breaks and tumbles
into the swamp water and the reflections lost,
will the sky be broken until another rises from the water,
or will the sky be mended without the interruption of the towering tree.

All Rights Reserved. © Steve Gerkin. Do not republish without permission.

Photo: Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida by Sam Joyner.