What Do Trees Talk About?

Now that we know how they signal each other
through root hairs and fungal threads of meaning,
will we ever learn to read these signals
and know what it is they talk about
in the dark loamy layers below?

Surely there must be more
to their talk than survival
as when insects or fires threaten,
just as we sapiens came to learn
grunts and guttural sounds could signify
so much more than danger
when wolves or tigers were near
but …

what I want to know is
do they ever sweet talk each other
sending love notes to nearby birches
as they bend in the breeze
and sing praises to Mother Tree
who watches over all?

Do they speak in hushed tones
of what it must be like to walk
on feet or touch each other
the way those wise apes do
and wonder if trees will
ever learn to read their signals
when words are too shallow and coarse
for root hairs to hear
and smoke signals fill the valleys
with the scent of disaster?

First published together with “The Price of Poetry” in Tipton Poetry Journal Issue #61 (See pages 36-37)

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