Branches

Just so you know, this jungle you left me in; I’m going to burn it to the motherfucking ground. Watch those trees breathe in fire as they exhale carbon dioxide into the air. Put that match on the pile of broken branches. There were once a part of great trees that stood hundreds of feet in the air, those branches. Mountaintops looked at these structural masterpieces. The trunks firmly planted into the ground, gaining nutrients from surrounding trees. These mammoths fed off each other, just to make each other stronger. Now their branches are falling to the ground getting gripped in the sinking soil tripping me as I walked through. Now the character of the weary traveler as played by me, the weary traveler, is collecting them. One by one, they’re being placed in that pile about to be ignited into an inferno of destruction and hate. Why? Because I need a way out.

Sure, I tried walking to find a way out, back when I was energetic and capable of traveling through this green monstrosity. But each step I took only led me further in. There is no other side. Breaking branches to back track didn’t work. Each branch I broke snapped nine more somewhere else. The ground is so firm that no footprints can be made. Not even the Hulk could leave a mark. Deeper and deeper I believed there was an exit. I was so foolish. No exit, only trees. Trees that have been standing like towers over my lonely head.

We once walked in this forest. Together we would watch in awe at all the fantastic images nature made. We’d find a place to sit down and lay a blanket and stare as the trees shoot out branches from their bodies. The branches evolved in real time before our very own irises. There would be so much to take in. The strong iron bark of the branches would make room for a delicate leaf to pop up and add to the tree’s beauty. There was so much else to look at. The vastness of the path we walked down, how it seemed to go on forever; it looked like it was never going to end. It was just lined with breathtaking tree followed by amazing sight over and over again. It was all too amazing. In the fall the colors came to life. We’d feel the red, the yellow and the brown inside of ourselves, shaping who we were and who we were destined to become.

I remember when we first set foot in this place… No tree was as big as me. We’d walk through the meadow with the freedom to do whatever we wanted to, as long as we made sure to not do anything that would hurt the trees that had just started to grow. Running around while the sun was shining bright. The trees were feeding off the sun just like us. That golden ball gave those sophomoric trees a chance to release its first branch to the world. Creation right before us. The sight humbled me. I knew we couldn’t enjoy this place without creating something of our own. You picked up a seed off the ground just to put it back somewhere else, covering it with the rich soil that made this place great. Anything could grow here. You didn’t stop there. Nine more seeds went into the ground by your hand. One by one they sprouted, feeding off of the same energy that we feed off of.

I’m ripping these trees apart. There needs to be something to kindle this fire. Anything that will make it burn. The branches from the deepest part of this jungle serve best. Leaves, twigs, whole branches, they all burn the same. Fire rips through them with the same amount of indignation. The pile in front of me is towering, filled with the broken branches you forgot about. I didn’t forget about them. They sit here right in my eye line. Remove. Strike. Fire. The match falls onto the pile. The leaves burn first, those pleasant first formalities to the main event. The twigs catch. The fire rips through them. It’s starting to spread now. The branches become engulfed in the burning. They’re going now. This fire is just turning into a full-fledged eruption now. The trees. Those gigantic f*****g trees are going up in flames. Smoke is filling the air. Nothing is clear anymore. The heat is felt all around. Every single direction is emitting this terrible but glorious energy. Ashes enter my lungs; it’s getting harder to breathe. Don’t fret; it’ll all be over soon.

It’s over. The fire has finally subsided. Heat is rising from the ground as charred branches lay uselessly on the ground. Nothing will ever grow on this ground again.