Assynt & NW Sutherland
Early March in the far north-west and the trees still stand skeletal,
forms traced in dark or light against backdrops of mountains, water & sky,
in a landscape still clothed in its winter colours.
Their crowns are fringed with a fine young growth of slender twigs,
bearing buds reflecting warm bronze or copper in the spring sunshine,
but still tightly closed against the prevailing cold.
They stretch out their elegant trunks and branches over moving water,
reaching high to screen the mountains, waterfalls and the coastal margins;
and in the woods, they arch over the avenues to embrace each other.
Over twigs, branches and trunks lichens grow, a profusion of filigree,
grasping the bark to reach out in shades of grey and green, catching light
and breathing the pristine air, still moist after long wet months.
Soon the buds will open, bursting into flower or leaf,
drawing curtains of fresh vegetation across sky and landscape alike,
until the dark greens of summer turn to autumnal hues and fall.
