Urgent Call for Poems about Trees from Poets who Love Them

Call out from Susan McCaslin -

The Han Shan Project: An Urgent Call for Poems about Trees from Poets 

who Love Them

Han Shan was an ancient Chinese poet who posted his poems on the trees 

and rocks of Cold Mountain. In the spirit of Han Shan….

o Join our effort to speak for the trees of McLellan Forest East, an 

endangered rainforest in Glen Valley, Langley, BC. It could be sold for 

private development and logged after Dec. 17th.


o Send us a tree poem and we’ll post it on a tree in the forest. One poem 

per poet. Keep it to one page with your name at the bottom. Small photo 

of you is okay.

o This is the west coast, so poems about species such as fir, hemlock, 

cedar, hemlock, spruce, bigleaf maple, black cottonwoods are especially 

relevant.

o Send your poem immediately to Susan McCaslin who can provide more 

information about the forest and the issue.
smccaslin@shaw.ca

Background: This remarkable and ecologically important forest will be 

sold by the Township of Langley for private development after Dec. 17 of 

this year if something radical is not done immediately to keep Council from 

proceeding.

For further information: http://mclellanpark.blogspot.ca/

McLellan Park Blog 
mclellanpark.blogspot.com

McLellan Park Blog mclellanpark.blogspot.com

***************************************************

This is my offering:

For the trees of McLellan Forest East:

making way

above the railway cut there stands

the gauzy remainder of our trees

city sliced down cottonwoods

bitter cherries alders

lest they stumble and slide downslope

to this new train

black tangles against evening mauve

quiet empty yard 

enclave in a loud

forgetful neighbourhood

juncoes still visit bushtits still visit

coyotes and raccoons gone

ravens saw those great silver-sided leaves

settled down in the midst of city racket

to make their nest

in those days

when the clawing began within

i stood at my window and watched the trees

breathed with them for them

with the hesitating breeze

how I sorrowed at being unable to save

even one

Casey Wolf

Grandview Cut, Vancouver