Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page.
Identify with Trees
By Cheryl Moore
Looking at the Chinese Zodiac, I don’t find an animal I can identify with.
Why are there only animals? Why not plants?
If there is a living thing I mostly identify with, it is a deciduous tree.
Trees are tall, stand upright. They reach up to the heavens; I am tall, upright (at least most of the time).
I reach up to the sky doing my morning exercises.
Trees are more silent than most animals—no barking dogs or yowling cats, trees only whisper when they sway in the wind.
Their annual cycle ranges from quickly budding in spring, like childhood, then full glory in summer like the energy of early adulthood, until their final flash of color, ageing until their bare branches in winter resemble skeletal bones. A bit rough perhaps, but in a loose sense, how I identify.
When Cheryl Moore came to California in the early 1960’s, she realized she’d found her home. Moving to Petaluma in the 70’s, she was as close to paradise as she’d ever get.
Travel has taken her to Europe and the Middle East. She has written on these memories as well as on the flora and fauna of the local river and her own garden
Chery’s writing has been published in “The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Discoveries,” available from your local bookseller. Print and ebook available through Amazon. Also available through the Sonoma County Library system.
