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The Intelligence of Trees
Wisdom without words
Why should we ever assume
that spoken words alone proclaim intelligence?
The buzzing, humming, soaring world,
the flick of a tail, a scent left on a trail
all speak of awareness, communication
and the sharing of ancient intention.
Consider the trees,
stationary but never inert.
We observe the movement of their leaves
their swaying boughs, their growing girth
the cool shadows they cast
the hidden homes they provide
but much more important are their roots
gripping, sprawling and linking each tree
to its offspring and the wider world
via chemical messages we may never understand.
Trees help each other, often guarding the weakest
with a vigorous altruism we can only admire.
Despite the ravages of fire, insects, disease,
and worst of all, the callous intrusions of man,
trees continue to communicate and thrive,
bound together by their intelligent, wordless lives.
