Prayer Trees

Ute Prayer Trees
thought to help find water, trails,
burial sites and medicinal plants
called The Grandfather Trees
of the Black Forest used
sometimes for prophesy

every living thing has a spirit
the prayer tree lifting the words
to a high pine crown and then
blown away by the wind
the breath of the creator

trail marker trees twisted thirty-degrees in a bend,
bowing the sapling and tying it into shape,
or arborglyphs burned into the bark, or stripped
bark four inches apart

their twists saved their lives
too crooked to use in buildings
and for some reason
spared in the great Black Forest Fire
sacred trees
mystery trees
prayer trees for 800 years