ode to redwoods

my loves stretch for eons towards the horizon
not your californian cult
born from firestorm death
but still taller than god and i reckon more loyal
sit on the corpse in the centre
and observe as your body hovers two hundred feet above slow ground
salamanders snooze and ooze in the canopy
embracing fairy rings underneath
roots spoon the murk and needles sip forest fog
rolling in from ocean chills
blown like an exile by tempestuous blusters
so sturdy in their testament promises
mourning morning
pithy bark and pity the dead
from womb to hell

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Zia Ravenscroft is a writer, actor, drag king and filmmaker currently studying in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. He has previously been published in Starling, The Spinoff, and Overcom, amongst others, and performed at the National Poetry Slam Finals in 2023.