Vigil and poem for the trees - tree removal to begin at 145th

On May Day a small group from Shoreline, supported by good thoughts from dozens of other tree lovers, held a small vigil at the 147th Park n Ride to memorialize 70 trees which are scheduled for destruction to make way for the Light Rail Station and tracks.

There are many species in this grove including huge madrones, White Pine, Western Red Cedar and Douglas Fir.

Many residents of Shoreline are asking why they are being cut now, in the middle of bird nesting season? There are approximately 800 - 2000 more trees in the Shoreline Light Rail Corridor scheduled to be cut.

It is an issue causing distress for many humans and other creatures in Shoreline.

The Forest Archives

By Vicki Westberg 

Silhouetted by

an iridescent    

web of stars

monastic hoods of

evergreens nod imperceptibly.

Supernatural beings

do inhabit the region

like mythological giants,

tired ancient spirits gathered

in the painful endurance of time.

Cathedral spires, heavy and hard

aspire upward like tapers

to be lit by lightning fires.

They creak like masts in the wind

from blasts that make them turn and bend,

bow and sway in a noisy dance of freedom.

The pipe organ prelude concludes

with a sepulchral silence

that dares forth

an occult moan.

Rain is due and spirits fly

among the arboreal ecclesia.

Then streams of sacred sapphires enter

and sizzle through the archives

like church whispers,

telling stories

of the past, grandpast

and great grandpast,

and how the archives

retain water

in their fibers

as I do.