Sunday, February 17, 2008
Braintree
Fascinated by the bare trees in winter: the branches that look like nerves or blood vessels. Braintree. And it is the pulp of this plant that has held our own brains' thoughts in the form of paper and books. The growth and shedding of leaves is like the slow release of enzymes or thought itself. In fall these same trees were so vibrant, so stunning, that I often found myself awestruck by their visual eloquence. I had to stop and just watch them as you listen to an aria by a great singer. Maybe trees are the earth's brain and when the tree is cut or diseased it affects the earth as the brain's illness affects the body: erosion and desertification are our planet's stroke and paralysis.