Sudden Oaks’ Death

by Andrada Costoiu

Photo: “Hilltop Oak Tree”, by Ken Kistler

It was a warm summer night,
With blue skies and a gentle breeze brushing the grass.
Standing at the edge of the forest, the tree was quiet,
Scars on its bark were witnesses of times
That bent him lower and lower…..

Today he got word from inside his oak forest,
Live tweets were coming about older trees,
They were dying,
Their crowns were tumbling in green tresses
All the way to the ground.

He knew that the eternal cycle of the seasons is underway,
But this was not time, and it was not winter…..
Moving beetles have infested the soil,
A quarantine was in place,
But beetles still liked to sing….

He’s always been part of this uniquely beautiful wood,
He felt despair tingling his heels,
And bleeding symptoms on his trunk,
Rising straight into the grey sky,
He clenched on his roots,
He wanted to see another spring…

I hardly wanted to write one more thing about the current situation, but I have read few articles about the situation in Italy, especially in the areas of Bergamo and Lombardy, that have broken my heart. So many older people are dying. If you have the guts to read something really sad here is an article in NYTimes about it : https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/world/europe/italy-coronavirus-funerals.html

I wrote this in hope to spread more love for our elders. I saw in the news that they were urging millennials to respect distance, here is what they say: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/coronavirus-official-explains-millennials-key-stopping-spread/story?id=69638468

So please, if possible let’s stay home and also avoid contact with elders if you think you’ve been exposed to the virus. In Italy, the numbers have grown exponentially, partly because families there are so close; young and old live or spend time together. Thus, if a young asymptomatic has it, then it would not knowingly passing it to his elders.

Below is a statistic I have found, that is a live report of the spread situation around the world. You can find it here: live report on coronavirus.

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