The trail is named Methuselah
in honor of a tree
born forty-eight hundred years ago
on a windswept bed of dolomite
in honor of a tree
born forty-eight hundred years ago
on a windswept bed of dolomite
Born facing east
(before the pyramids of Edfu stood tall
before the sky god found its home
on the banks on the Nile)
(before the pyramids of Edfu stood tall
before the sky god found its home
on the banks on the Nile)
I walk the trail back to its origins
towards the slow pulse of life
flowing within contorted trunks
honey-colored limbs scarred by lightning
towards the slow pulse of life
flowing within contorted trunks
honey-colored limbs scarred by lightning
Each step is a step at the edge
of the breath heart beats quickened
by altitude heart beats stolen
by ancient trees bearing witness
of the breath heart beats quickened
by altitude heart beats stolen
by ancient trees bearing witness
Forty eight hundred years of resistance
To ice and droughts and fire
Standing still standing still
While men invented writing, built Babylon
To ice and droughts and fire
Standing still standing still
While men invented writing, built Babylon
And waged war after war, carried away
by power greed and gunpowder
leaving behind elders and orphans
to persist on lands eroded by solitude
by power greed and gunpowder
leaving behind elders and orphans
to persist on lands eroded by solitude
precious nutrients lifted from scarcity
sustains the hope of survival
one rain drop at the time
dense ring after dense ring
sustains the hope of survival
one rain drop at the time
dense ring after dense ring
Death-defying trees guide my steps
From one rocky ridge to the next
Until I reach the beginning
And lean in awe against a thin ribbon of life
From one rocky ridge to the next
Until I reach the beginning
And lean in awe against a thin ribbon of life
