3.

  “Tree Between Two Countries”

  Great-horned owl flew east over

  a craggy coastline, every night

  passed through different

  phases of the moons,

  soared within range of a fig tree

  that teetered on the edge of a

  multi-layered, sandstone cliff-face,

  battered by angry waves and sea foam,

  hugged the precipice with coils

  of roots half-buried, half-revealed

  crescendoed in and out of the stonework

  like a lattice of waves.

  Myriad of creatures housed

  within moist, fertile

  underbrush; thick, cobwebbed

  branches twisted eternally toward the

  sunlight; disfigured ladder stretched,

  its limbs hide several hundred

  miles above in a thick cloud

  of impenetrable vapors

  where fly and roost the most mysterious

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  avians never glimpsed by mortal eyes.

  Plethora of flora furled

  around the trunk, bundles of

  grapevines grew unimpeded

  in patches of royal blue,

  clasped stems entwined in

  leafy, wooden rivers joined with

  the thick, thorny tendrils of a

  black rose — over-ripe,

  leaning toward the earth.

  Locked, oak chest buried within a

  hollowed-out shrine beneath the roots,

  held a fire stolen back by the gods,

  guarded by the watchful eyes of the owl

  (with its 360° vision and immense province

  of flight, the raptor spies an isle northwest

  ordinarily out of sight),

  people seeking peace unaware that

  their armistice laid top a ridge

  left uncharted a few miles out at sea,

  proved, instead, that life did not exist

  with mathematical and philosophical proofs;

  murdered one another for centuries

  despite answers hidden poorly

  just beyond their field of vision —

  kingdom of zealots to the southeast,

  across the fig tree’s massive circumference,

  orchestrated prayers loudly in droves;

  prepared crusaders to invade the forest and

  burn sacrificial lambs deep in the

  heartwood — scar torn open and

  charred.

  Fig tree roots cried salt-water tears,

  condensed and splashed on its

  dense outer layers, as the owl learns

  that it can unlock the chest with its beak.

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