The younger man did come upon a tree so vast
Its roots had delved the timeless earth and spread there fast
Whereon this twisted tangle rose majestic stands
Of malin-timbers, purest flow’rs of ancient lands
For eons stood upon this gladdened field, till now
Wherein a spell did fall upon the forest boughs
In time enchanting elders who had gathered fruits
To burrow hollows deep beneath the forest’s roots
At first with pruning tools, then fingernails did claw
Upon their wizened visage, darkened empty stares
Until their fingers raw, with mouths began to gnaw
As worms into the roots do blindly ever fare
And cut and fed upon that life unfurled
The younger man in horror gazed upon this world.
©2026 R.A.R. Knight
First published in Reveille Journal
Author’s Note:
Malin is from old French, borrowed directly from Latin malignus (“bad-natured, perfidious, wicked”), itself derived from malus (“bad/evil”) + gignere (“to produce/engender”). Here let us concentrate on the nature of the timber.
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