Silver Birch from TREES by Paul Armfield

Tennyson pops his head up again; he was the first to describe this particular species of birch as ‘silver’.
I tried to encapsulate much of the lore and old wives’ tales associated with this ‘Lady Of The Woods’, It is the tree of healing and renewal and is often the first to appear on cleared land. On some of the trees on Sibden Hill there was quite a lot of lichen and I’ve tried to evoke that subtle contrast of colours, the pale green turquoise against the pale grey bark; this abundance of lichen signifies clean air, not surprisingly as the prevailing winds blow directly to Shanklin from across the Atlantic, for me it’s presence accentuates the associations of purity already connected to the tree and lends it an almost sanctified air. I reference a wonderful poem ‘Birches’ by Robert Frost in which he reminisces climbing and swinging from them as a child.