WITNESS TREES by David Albano

- a tree that was present during a significant glacial, natural, or historical event

As the glaciers recede, near Glacier Bay 

interstadial stumps of a Sitka spruce, 

sheared off 9,400 years ago

by glaciation, reappear 

and now witness the throb of streams

tumbling into a new river.

In 2013 in Managua, the metal

Klimtesque Trees of Life

were a garish multimillion-dollar gift

from Vice President Rosa Murillo 

to herself. 

Tourists driving out of Managua

at highway speeds 

to surf the Pacific coast 

saw the trees in a blur 

of candy color. At night 

when the trees glowed, light

bloomed and spilled 

onto the dark traffic circles.

But such trees only bloom

in metaphor. They do not deliver

shelter or breath. They hum

with sugar and color, 

without context – without roots.

First the citizens plucked

the lightbulbs, like picking

fruit in a sterile orchard.

Then in 2018 protestors

as thunderous as rivers, 

hacked, sheered,

tumbled, and burned 

these trees into witness. 

David Albano’s poem “Earthly Icarus” was nominated for a 2025 Pushcart Prize. He was recently published in Deep Wild. His poems appear in Blueline Magazine, Italian Americana, Earth First! Journal, and Ovunque Siamo and other journals. His poems about Malawi were selected as a finalist in the Peace Corps Poetry Contest.