Redfire and the Dogwood Tree, Pt. 1

This is an experiment--please don't confuse "I" with "me". I'm playing with pacing and nerves here. And symbols. Don't pay too much attention. Thank you for your concern.

I heard a story the other day. The story says that Jesus was nailed to a cross. The cross he was nailed to was made of a dogwood tree. Once upon a time, the story says, the dogwood tree grew majestic and tall. After Christ was nailed to it, God cursed the tree so that its tall majesty was lost. Never again would the tree bear enough lumber to hang a man from. And you know those white flowers that blossom in early spring? The red in the center of them? Those are the bloodstains of Jesus. That's the story I heard.

The dogwood tree is my favorite tree.

I was sitting under one in the woods the other day getting tired of a lot of things. One of those things was sitting under that dogwood tree so I got up and left.

I jumped over a ditch and walked up a hill. I went through a bunch of skinny old straggling pine trees. Red birds flew through scared of me. I got to the top of the hill then went down the other side into a valley where a muddy creek ran—there, I walked down the creek to where it emptied into a shallow pond.

Looking out over that pond I saw what I thought was a leaf spinning in circles. I went to the edge of the water and looked closer. It was not a leaf at all but the tail of a fish, a big carp swimming in circles. I picked up a stick laying by my feet and touched the fish but he disappeared. I knew better and waited. When he came back swimming in circles and stirring up mud I raised the stick up over my head and brought it down hard. A big bubble rose up and a thin haze of red fish blood came through. Towards the middle of the pond I saw the soft body of the fish float up just below the surface of the water.

I threw the stick out toward the dead fish and walked on through the woods. I eventually came out of the woods and walked up on some railroad tracks. I pulled my hat down close over my head and shoved my hands in my pants pockets. I looked for trains but none were coming.