Longing for the elms

A rare surviving American elm in western Massachusetts. Most of these trees were killed by Dutch Elm Disease in the mid 20th Century.

"Never again

when the heat overwhelms us

cool elms

The elm leaves shrivel on the twig

and the sun beats through and our time is big

with a lidless time that knows no dark,

no shadow where the heart can see...''

-- From "Long Hot Summer,'' by  the late Archibald MacLeish. He lived in Conway, Mass.