Knowledge
You might write a story about anything found along the way, but occasionally a surprise will greet you that must evoke thought. In this case, I wondered at the chunk of quartz around which had grown a large hemlock. I passed by this tree many times and little did I know it had a gneiss heart. Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard the platitudes of the songs of silver linings. If this section of our forest had not been obliterated by the adelgid, I never would have seen such a miraculous spectacle.
How? It wasn’t lodged in the crook of two branches. This tree wasn’t magically injected like an oyster with a few grains of sand. Where did this pearl originate and what event caused it to become such an integral part of this hemlock? Furthermore, how long ago did this integration take place? The quartz is nestled 30 feet up this gargantuan conifer.
Just because a question is asked does not mean it will have an answer.
2019