Post-conflict rage.
Written by John MacphersonI met the tree once before. And I met it again today. Angry.
“They cut me!” it barked. “Can you believe it, they cut me! Me. A tree in my position. Can you believe it?”.
I could believe it. I could clearly see they had cut it.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid man. With a chainsaw…….cut me.”
Cut. © John MacPherson
I understood, even if the chainsaw man did not. I understood.
“I was here before the fence came…” the tree told me, “…long before. And then they came, and put a post beside me, another of my kin, fencepostuseful.”
I could see that too.
“And we shared a long long time, of growing, me bigger, she older but still strong though. A good fence. Taut. We kept each other company, through wind and weather, snow and rain……”
I could see the rust, and mossgreen stains. Age writ colourfully.
“………and in time…” the tree continued “….to share her burden, I took the fencewire…and made it mine too. Swallowed it into me. Steel and bark. We bore the load together, we two. She and me.”
I could see that.
That which the chainsaw man obviously did not.
“And now they’ve cut me, CUT me!”
It was painfully obvious. The cuts were terrible. But I could do nothing useful to help.
“And now” the tree sighed despondently…“instead of helping bear the burden. Her burden. I am the burden. I will drag and pull and tear and weigh-with-snow and tug, until I rip the heart out of my friend. Can you understand? Can you?”
I did understand.
“I could have helped. I could have been useful” sighed the tree “Now I’m only sad. And angry. And a burden. Stupid stupid man and his chainsaw.”
I was sad too, but I agreed to tell the tree’s story.
One of post-conflict rage.
Author — John Macpherson
John MacPherson was born and lives in the Scottish Highlands. He trained as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, before completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter, and then qualified as a Social Worker in Disability Services. Along the way he has cooked on canal barges, trained as an Alpine Ski Leader & worked as an Instructor for Skiers with disabilities, been a canoe instructor, and tutor of night classes in carpentry, stained glass design and manufacture, and archery. He has travelled extensively on various continents, undertaking solo trips by bicycle, or motorcycle. He has had narrow escapes from an ambush by terrorists, been hit by lightning, caught in an erupting volcano, trapped in a mobile home by a tornado, kidnapped by a dog's hairdresser, rammed by a basking shark and was once bitten by a wild otter. He has combined all this with professional photography, which he has practised for over 35 years. He teaches photography and acts as a photography guide & tutor in the UK and abroad. His biggest challenge is keeping his 30 year old Land Rover 110 on the road. He loves telling and hearing stories.