Those of you who know me, know that I am caring for my 93 year-old mother. She long ago expressed her interest in having her ashes released in the Bristlecone Pine forest on Mount Evans, Colorado when her soul has departed to wherever souls go. In this song I equate her with a Bristlecone Pine. Against all odds from the moment of her birth, she has survived the changes of time. The song is written as a waltz about the lasting dance that she will have among her sister pines.
Anne Page McClard · Bristlecone Pine
Lyrics
In her first act of defiance
She extended a crooked limb
Small soft fist, her hand
A show of self reliance
Her mother gently lay her down
on carpet of alpine moss
Seed sown in tundra
A prayer she’d soon be found
She dreams at night
of her lasting dance
High at timberline
You’ll find her spinning with the stars
Among the bristlecone pines
A seedling’s tendrils drilled deep
In breach of limestone and ground
Gave her strength to endure
Assaults of wind, ice, and sleet
Another year of casting seeds
As winter yields to spring
Her trunk twists and turns
in time with earth’s lead.
She dreams at night
of her lasting dance
High at timberline
You’ll find her spinning with the stars
Among the bristlecone pines
She survived changes of time
Became a graceful old soul,
Tree beyond compare, a
Beautiful bristlecone pine
She’ll waltz there with her sister pines
Her soul will whisper in the wind
Caress pink asters
And kiss blue columbines
She dreams at night
of her lasting dance
High at timberline
You’ll find her spinning with the stars
Among the bristlecone pines
You’ll find her spinning with the stars
Among the bristlecone pines
