I’ve been thinking about the ways trees branch out.I had coffee with a geographer the other day; we talked a little about how trees draw similar paths to rivers (he talked about water flow). I asked him about underground water sources, because I was thinking of root systems, in trees—and how they mirror above ground branching systems.
And this brings me to think about something a little different; if trees or water branch out both above and bellow ground, what’s the difference between the two?
Above ground: breathing, expansive, flourishing (even in this end-of-winter leaflessness).
Underground: murky, pushing through rock and worms, fighting and groping for water.
I’m thinking with my senses. I realize the underground has oppressive connotations for me. It’s interesting to imagine another part of me, a mirror-me, that understands tree roots and underground thirsts.
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This makes me think of the flooded forest I visited in Cambodia. It's a couple of hours from Siem Reap (I'm obviously still Canadian, I measure distance in hours) and in the wet season the water rises so high that it covers the forest. The houses are all built on huge stilts, about four stories high. Pics on my facebook page. Anyway, my point is, I went in the dry(ish) season, and the trees were all wavy and water-shaped. As though they'd grown into the shape of the moving water. Which I suppose they had.
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