One of 2 Torrey Pines cut down on Saratoga Ave. in OB on 2/9/16. (Photo by Frank Gormlie)
Your Green Canopies We Will Miss –
In memory of the two lost Saratoga Torrey Pines 1930-2016
By Kathy Blavatt
The sign said “trimming”
Like when you trim your hair and it grows back healthier.
Not chop up your body and spit out the pieces.
No tree-huggers could save this community elder.
The death sentence had been passed, with the judgment only coming in the
way of questionable permits.
… After the fatal blows had been cast.
The wood-nymphs and elfens gathered to sing the praises of the tall beauty.
They knew the joy this green over-looker had given our seaside kingdom.
The shade baring icon and his precious friends.
If our foliage-covered friend was sick, shouldn’t we have known?
Could we not find a way to diagnose and possibly save our noble friend?
Was extra care or life-support not an option?
But death came quickly, by an emergency clause.
By those who had no history, no connection,
to our tall friend who dared to reach for sky.
How and why had our Torre, then his brother, been so brutally taken?
… Asked the elders, the protectors and the lifeblood planners of our domain.
Once again respect had passed us by.
Now our watering is only tears.
A piece of specialness is gone.
Our forest street is now filled with tragic blanks, as is our hearts.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for that Kathy!
Those trees were gorgeous….they had special powers and protection.
Thank you Kathy for the beautiful poem and for spending your whole day trying to save those beautiful trees. Not only were they beautiful but they provided much needed shade and cooling to our warming planet. We understand the need for safety and the concerns of liability by the city but again we were not notified and informed, and frankly, it is hard to trust the city as they have misled us in the past about the need to cut trees in our community. We all need to be more involved and vigilant to protect Ocean Beach as we love it.