we walked into deep into the woods
and came upon a circle of tall birches
the smooth silver trunks marked with
initials of lovers long forgotten
who once swore their love would last
and thought to immortalise it
in the silver wood of the birch trees
where the white bark had peeled away
he ran he fingers carefully
up and down their slender trunks
feeling each little slash and ridge
though barely visible on their thin bark
then i flicked open my pocket knife
to carve our own initials into the wood
like the many young lovers before us
but as the blade touched the wood
he whispered to me quietly
"these trees are marked
by pale faded scars
like on smooth slender arms
their long delicate branches
are like slim white fingers
desperately reaching up to heaven
begging for another chance
and with help from the angels
their scars are slowly healing"
and again he ran his fingers over
their trunks to feel the white bark
then ran his fingers gently over the
pale skin of my scarred arms
and then my love, my angel
pressed his lips to each slash and scar
as if trying to heal what had been done
so I put away my blade
deciding that my love for him
would last forever
longer than the bark of the birch trees
and longer than an old scars

-*sg