driving up the canyon

I look out upon walls of pine

and see hints of brown

amidst the deep green

I remember an old neighbor

who moved here from out of state

asked me if the pines

are supposed to turn orange

I said “only when they die”

he said “then a whole lot

must be dying then”

and a whole lot of them have

in my life I’ve seen

the pine beetles jump the divide

seen heatwaves and forest fires

seen the mistletoe warp and ruin

seen the biggest tree I knew

split and fall

and this morning

looking out at the hints of brown

on the canyon walls

I assume I am seeing

what I’ve come to expect

but as I look closer I notice

not dying branches

but pinecones

I’ve been so poised

to see death

when I look out on the world

I mistook new life for decay

somehow there is still life

spread out over the mountainside

a whole forest of tomorrow

budding in the breeze

Alexander Shalom Joseph is an  award-winning poet, writer and playwright from Gilpin County, and is the author of seven published books. You can find his work and more  information about him at  alexandershalomjoseph.com.