Trees ( a poem ) 1976 Santa Cruz, Trinidad

Trees  (masking tape and shoe polish)

Trees

The trees each autumn

shed their leaves like tears

and stand, cold and alone

to face the winter storms.

Stark and bare they stand,

arms outstretched

toward the heavens

awaiting the day

they can wrap themselves in foliage

and feel the sap run in their veins.

Then water melts round their feet

and sun shines on their limbs

again they feel the warmth of life triumphing

and the cycle is renewed.

Trees  (masking tape and shoe polish)

Using masking tape on glass bottles, to make the bases for lamps was a common craft technique that had just hit Trinidad at the time. I decided to try it to make a piece of art.  I also made lamp bases, and shades too, using this technique.

Amazingly, these pictures have lasted over the many years and many moves.  After a little dusting, they are as good as when I made them.

I also used this technique on clay pots, to make vases. My mother in law still has one, and it too has lasted over the years very well. She has a dry arrangement in hers, and it looks very nice.

Growing up in Canada, where the leaves drop off the trees every fall,  I was always fascinated by the branches that were left to face the winter storms. They always looked so lonely, but so majestic and strong and beautiful too, as they faced the very cold Canadian winters, where -30 degrees was very common, for months of the year.

And then in the spring, they would suddenly come to life again, and would soon be in full foliage and bloom.  Our lives too are like that, as we pass through the many cycles of life.  We are a part of nature, so that shouldn't be such a surprise!