DISCOVERIES IN BARK
BY TRACY SCHLAPP
Look closely at the tree’s solid trunk, the contrast between the dark and light forms. I see hieroglyphics, the birch’s autobiography scored in its body. I visit this tree on my walks, sometimes collecting the papery birch bark that blows down the street. Delicate tree skin — white with lovely thin strips of reddish-brown, the paper rolls in on itself between my fingers.
It has been a long time since any of the women at Coffee Creek have touched a tree, explored the crags of its trunk. It has been years since they have warmed their hands in front of an open flame. So, when our Hecate’s Lantern writers chose ember and bark as a theme for a collection of writing, I was struck by the physicality of the prompt.
Transformation. The bark, a tree’s dense protective exterior contrasts with the charred remains of charcoal. Imagine the pleasure of watching burning bark glowing red hot, the density of heat transformed into a cloud of silky ash, swept away from the hearth.
Transportation. A burning ember left on a beach can be picked up by the tide (its center alive with fire) and delivered across the water to ignite on another beach. The ember fire has a life all its own, kept safe by the craggy bark exterior.
Filtration. Shinrin-yoku, the healing properties of a Japanese forest bath — trees calm a human’s central nervous system. I pictured a piece of charcoal elegantly placed in a pitcher to filter the water. Cleansing.
One body — bark and its ember imbued with so much possibility. A theme complete with life cycle, metaphor, and the complex relationship we have with fire — agent of loss, agent of destruction, agent of change, agent of life.
EMBER & BARK BY HANNAH BROPHY
”Humans, if they notice us at all, carve their initials into our trunks. All eager to establish that they were here, if only for a fleeting moment. They attempt to claim us as their own, not recognizing or acknowledging our superiority. We pity those who grow no roots, unable to spread their branches and leaves to the sun. They are transitory creatures, not one with nature. Their existence is brief, but definitive as they appropriate our land and leave behind concrete jungles.”
DIFFICULT ROADS BY CAROLYN STICKLEY
”In my mind’s eye, bark is a mask, and masks camouflage soft vulnerable insides. I have masks in many shapes and forms that hold the thoughts swimming around and around in my head.”
THE MANY RINGS OF ME BY SARAH BORSCH
“A tree bears rings — starting at its core and continuing to make more as it grows. The more life experiences, the more unique rings develop whether it is underfed, over watered, or endures the harsh elements of each season. All of these can impact the color, grain, and thickness of each ring. The same can be said for us as we grow through life.”
SMOKE & EMBERS OR WAS IT BARK? BY REBECCA ADAMS
“I feel energy, a surging powerful energy that whispers, ‘You have found good soil and have planted good seed and regrowth is beckoning your name. Keep reaching and seeking the light. Your Creator had to put you to the fire to purify you.’”
WILDFIRES BURNING BRIGHT BY SHALYN TROXEL
”It can take mere seconds to scorch a seedling to ash
Yet, it can take hours to burn through a heart of an established tree”
SMOLDERING EMBER BARK BY MELISSA BLACK
“With my basket by my side
I begin to collect the
warm black ember bark’s coal.
Raising my arms to the sky,
giving thanks for this healing.
Powerful medicine.”
Return to the bark and look closely. | TDS
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