Many Miles Down
Trees 4 Sale -- Joan Tavolott
Recycle containers of
Limestone Meadows,
lay on the side of the road like bowling pins.
Many miles down
as my playlist starts having a
cuppa coffee with me.
I kept rolling the window down
for the hell of it
and tallied three different places
selling Christmas trees.
Only one of the three looked shady,
and a spray painted word
was spelled wrong.
I can't remember which one.
Not that I'm keeping track.
Or should be.
Early Saturday afternoon matinee
of driving in the country.
Broken fencepost bits
clutter one side of the country road.
And there's only one lonely stoplight
in this town.
Standing as the last match
in the matchbook,
striker worn.
Trees 4 Sale -- Joan Tavolott
Limestone-meadow sedge (Carex granularis) is found in anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed) habitats such as abandoned fields as well as meadows, woodland openings, swamps, riverbottom and moist dolomite prairies, fens, seeps, moist depressions in limestone cliffs, lake and river shorelines, and wetland margins. It is widely distributed across the eastern US and southeastern Canada, but not on the Coastal Plain or in the high Appalachians. Various caterpillars feed on its foliage, and it is a food source for various grasshoppers and leafhoppers. Its seeds are a significant source of food for upland gamebirds, waterfowl, and songbirds. Livetock will eat its foliage, but deer and rabbits tend to avoid it.
ReplyDeleteThe use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands to symbolize eternal life has been traditional among many cultures, including the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Jews. Pagan tree worship was common in Europeans and survived in Scandinavia even after conversion to Christianity such as in decorating houses and barns with evergreens at the New Year to scare the Devil away. But the 1st decorated trees associated explicitly with Christmas, with sweets for apprentices and children, were erected by the Mustpeade vennaskond (Brotherhood of Blackheads, an association of local unmarried merchants, ship owners, and foreigners, formed in the 1340s to prevent Estonian pogroms against foreigners and the suppression of Christianity) in their guildhalls in Reval (Tallinn) and Riga in 1441. The custom moved more broadly from the guilds into the bourgeoisie in the Protestant parts of Germany. Martin Luther, who launched the Protestant Reformation, added lighted candles to an evergreen tree, and upper-class Protestant began adopting the practice as a counterpart to the Christmas cribs of Catholic families. By the early 18th century, the custom had become common in the upper Rhineland, though it had not yet spread to rural areas or to Catholic area in the lower Rhineland. However, the German army's decision to place Christmas trees in its barracks and military hospitals during the Franco-Prussian War promoted its general popularity, and the Christmas tree began to be accepted as an expression of German culture, especially among emigrants overseas. However, it had also begun to spread beyond Germany, especially among the aristocracy. George III's German-born wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, introduced a Christmas tree at a party she gave for British children in 1800, and the custom became more widespread after queen Victoria's marriage to her German cousin in 1839 when wealthy middle-class families followed the royal fashion. Countess Wilhemine of Holsteinborg lit the 1st one in Danmark in 1808, and when the son of kaiser Leopold II married a Protestant in 1815 she introduced it to the Viennese court. Helene Luise Elisabeth of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the duchesse d'Orléans, introduced the custom to France. Christmas trees did not start to appear in churches until the 20th century.