The ponderosa in our yard
in Oregon
has reached a height
greater I think than any
living tree in Massachusetts
where in centuries past
a climax forest grew
until the British
cut the taller trees for masts
1660 was the year the Royal Navy
came on board
I think of China
India, the Middle East
of opium and oil
African diamonds
not that we Americans
have much these days to boast of
still I wonder
how could one small island
have compassed
such a world of harm?