Spalted Maple vs. a Poem

 

The lovely bookmatched panels
Glow like butterscotch as the
Long shadows of dusk pervade the room

Spalting occurs in living trees under stress
The whole tree is changed from the inside out
To a pleasing rhyme and strong black figure

Fungus attacks the tree, lives within it,
And changes the smell and the mood of the wood

Fungi cannot colonize wood alone;
They require other fungi to have preceded them

Surprise and delight greet you upon the opening
Sad and wonderful, that only those trees in distress
Reveal wood that is beautiful, desirable, and rare.

 

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