2nd Annual Arbor Month Program: all entrants; winners; and a special presentation by Parks & Rec Director Ross Hoover.

The Historical Society is a proud grant recipient from the Cultural Coalition of Washington County whose funding helps support this program.

TREES & THE HUMAN CONNECTION

By Shelby Bell

 

It’s Spring:  I took a little walk

And sat upon a rock

 

I studied the trees…

Some, ‘tho barren, hinted at new life

    Waiting to burst forth at just the right time.

Some were green and healthy, swaying gently

     with the wind.

 

It was obvious that some had weathered many storms

     - but yet they stood.

Some were tall, straight and strong, while others had

     branches that were worn and tired.

Still, parts of them bravely carried on the fight to

     stretch their branches towards heaven.

 

But the one that struck me most, was

     the one that bent to lean on his stronger,

     taller neighbor

Who carried them both for awhile so together they

     could reach the lofty peaks.    

 

  

Enduring Presence

By Trish Brisbois

 

There is a sacredness to your beauty.

 

Blessed forest, woodland, and grove;

tender seedling and sapling.

You are the collective.

 

You reach back in time

and stretch forward into the future

where we did not and do not yet exist.

 

The stars applaud you,

the sun embraces you,

the wind enfolds you,

while the rain restores you.

 

You rise into the sky

as you descend deeper into the soil,

weaving your magnificence

in layered rings of time.

 

While an eagle perches on your highest limb,

the moss clings to your trunk;

you are spirit, you are earth,

you are the sum total of the elements

captured in a single moment.

 

As you frame the dawn with its rising sun,

you are our spiritual advisor

and guide to the morning.

 

As the sun dips low and the moon rises,

you sing us to sleep;

sheltering our dreams

while the night breeze whispers

amidst your branches.

 

Blessed forest, woodland, and grove;

tender seedling and sapling.

How you persist in such a fractured time,

weathering storms, born anew from ashes;

remaining solid, true and strong.

We revel in your enduring presence.

   

 

 

The Best

by Alexandra Stoehr

Of those in the forest, which one’s the best?

Is it the lion,
Brave and strong
In pompous show
All the day long?

Or maybe the leopard,
Beautifully dressed,
Happily unmoving
From his place of rest?

Perhaps the bear
With but one wish,
Roaming about
to hunt and to fish?

Or is the deer more apt,
With antlers lush,
Quiet and nimble,
As he moves through the brush?

While all these creatures are fine as can be,
None could best the noble tree.

Give me the tree,
Gnarly and free,
A shelter from storms that may come in the night,
Her branches the start
From which dreams take flight.

 

  

GROW 

By Briisland 

 Everyone talks about how people grow.

 

how people evolve. 

 

But not many

talk about people

being robbed of their presence 

While still existing 

 

Not many talk about the light that keeps dimming. 

  

I was taught that people change

People shift 

People Grow 

  

But inside our soul

We’re given a light

 

A light that is so divine 

It leads those who are reborn

  

We’ve been created before we were formed 

  

No one told me about the pain we endure 

While finding ourselves 

but finding that everyone else 

Is hiding 

 

Some are simply fighting 

Some are slowly dying 

 

& there are those that are just thriving 

In the deep 

In the dark 

 

Your pain is what fuels their heart 

God is far , as from him , they depart. 

  

Those are the ones that take your light

Just not for themselves 

 

Your light is the product 

For the deep 

For the dark 

  

The deception 

is the job description 

 

The pay

 is the power they’ve been missing 

 

They’ve found peace in their missions

 

But know nothing of the prince 

Whom they’ve listened 

 

 Everyone talks about the sickness 

But not about the root of the disease 

 

 Everyone so desperately wants to see 

So they lack faith and belief 

 

Unfortunately this leaves so many deceived 

And full of greed 

 

Dimming the lights 

Of those who want to love & create peace 

 

 They might’ve not told you 

But you are worth more 

 

God is waiting for you 

To want to be restored 

  

No man or woman is worth 

Losing the fight 

No man or woman 

Is worth losing that light 

 

 They might’ve not told you 

But your soul isn’t of this world 

 

You need to find that light

That dwells in your little girl 

 

Leave those that dwell 

In the deep 

In the dark 

  

God created your heart 

 

He will lead you out the dark 

 

We’re the ones apart 

 

But Gods ready when we are. 

Poems are listed in the order they were received. They celebrate the spirit of Arbor Month in Tualatin.

The judges have evaluate poems based their ability to entertain as well as technical excellence. All entrants will receive a free annual membership to the Tualatin Historical Society. There will be prizes for the finalists and they have be asked to read their poem live at the Historical Society’s April 5th 1pm program which will also include Ross Hoover, Tualatin Parks Director speaking about the future of our parks.

All poems will be permanently placed into our archives.

This year’s winners:

1) “Trees & the Human Connection.  by Shelby Bell

2) “Growing Green”  by M. L. Lyons

3) “Enduring Presence”  by Trish Brisbois

To the dogwood tree in my back yard -- sonnet #1

 By Molly Skeen

 You're rooted in my back yard, growing tall and wide

a dogwood tree, your presence here inspires me

to let go seeming differences, to look inside

I wonder what it's like for you -- to be a tree

 

In winter you go dormant, do you mind the cold?

come springtime you adorn yourself in pink array

your leaves will wilt in summer drought and heat, I'm told

when autumn comes you drop your leaves, to my dismay

 

Your branches are a place of refuge for the birds

while robins take a break there from the search for worms

a steller's jay squawks loudly, hoping to be heard

you welcome them, squirrels too, freely with no terms

 

You teach me how to be at peace, open, and still

I'm part of nature too, with purpose to fulfill

  

 

Growing Green

by M. L. Lyons

  

Allow the branches to brook themselves

and river their roots to where they please.

 

Ancients and ancestors sang of the bounty that beauty brings,

filling splendidly every lovely arm with flowers flourishing into fruit.

The growing green lushes our lives into emerald canopies. 

 

So seed the loam and plant again until a widening woodland springs,

and savor these sweet woods, which mother-like

breath out into the breaths we take.

 

 

 

Tualatin tree poem

by George Klein 3/8/2023

 

See Tualatin trees blow in the breeze 

They add fragrance and color 

Some cause us to sneeze

Sheltering and shading they help us all

Adding beauty to our city

Growing wide, narrow, some very tall

 

They are like us, in many ways,

With challenges and problems, 

Needing sunshine in their days 

Volunteers plant many,

You may come to know 

With water and time,

Let’s watch them grow

 

They share their surroundings 

Connecting our world so sweet

Adding buffers to our waterways

Where we walk with our feet

Each is unique and special you know

Like you and me

Exposed to sun wind rain and snow

 

They bring many a grin

As they bloom and unfold

Announcing spring is here

They’re alive once again

Say hi to them 

See them wave back

There are firs, pine, and even some hem

 

Thanks to all who make it so

Because it’s all appreciated

Giving Tualatin a glow

They help our river

Stay protected and wild

Its waters run through us

And are fun to flow                                            

 

  

The Legacy

by Luann Hawkins Wiedenmann

 

Memories whisper among the branches

of ancient ash and white oak trees;

pioneer voices heard long ago,

now wispy legends dancing on the river's breeze.

 

Those folks were the first river keepers

stewards of the tree-lined bank,

who felt the cool of the Big Leaf Maple;

watching deer and fox who cautiously drank.

 

Those were the settlers and weary travelers

grateful for the boughs of shade

who smelled Cascara's late-spring blooms,

where tanagers and hummingbirds displayed.

 

Did westward elders treasure

the giants on the shore?

Roots coaxing soil to remain

rich litter carpeting the forest floor?

 

And when they leaned against those sturdy trunks,

some silky smooth, some rough with grooves,

did they ever wonder how many would remain?

Or mourn those that had been removed?

 

But what will we do now?

 

caretakers of this crucial trust.

Will we honor the legacy

and nurture the ancestral gifts?

I think the answer is...yes, we must.

 

 

 

 

The Imagination of a Tree

by Genevieve Ford

 

I recall the moment

My Mother

Found a small

Trickle of water

In the ground.

Her excitement,

And my wonder.

How did she know where to find

That opening -

That place ---

Wherein a seed could be placed?

And ... thus ... from there

A tree would flourish

And grow.

No longer a wonder!

Yet therein was the view

Of a tall green citadel

Which became a tree.

 

  

 

 THE BORLAND ROAD GIANTS

by Barry Hazard

 

Columns that hold up the sky,

22 giants strong and high;

Mixture of Majesty and Mystery,

a BIG part of Tualatin’s history.

 

In splendor they grant those who pass

a sense of Peace and Tranquility;

with Power and Grace

they call to all, “Come and See!”

 

Once when recovering from surgery,

I walked to them with difficulty;

Touching each one they “spoke” to me

with assurance about overcoming adversity.

 

Unique they stand all 22 in a row,

A stunning sight for the eyes to behold;

In their presence we stand in awe of

the mighty trees of Borland Road.

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