Asahina, Ashley

English

University of Portland

If a Tree Falls in a ForestBy Ashley Asahina61I don’t need ears to knowthat it fell, for the vibration it generatesflows through my veins and has pluggedmy ears with the ashes of humanity’s evolution.I crave the fallen; the stamp of wisdom’s ambiance we so upholdcarved within the stumps of our ancestorsand into the pencils of scholars. I listen without hearing;lightning that struck its first victim cracklinglovingly through the dead ofwinter’s brutal chill, shrieks of anaghast newborn as it broadcasts life for thefirst time through tiny lungs, sighs ofshade as it coos gently at the heat-stroked, chirps ofbirds and the howls of apes, furious clicking and scribbling onsheets that determine humankind’s future, the gasp oflife inhaled in the wind, groans of industrialization andagricultural means, thefirst juicy crunch of sin that casted Adam and Eveto the depths of Earth.I must listen carefully, delicately, as to catch the source ofvibration’s waves tickling the tips of my ears. There are thosewho have the audacity to ask whether a fallen tree’slament makes a sound. For them I ask this,When the last tree falls in the forest,Will the world make a sound?

If a Tree Falls in a Forest

https://pilotscholars.up.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1023&context=writersmag

If a Tree Falls in a Forest

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University of Portland