Hulking conifers that sprout adventitious roots high in the canopy that dip back down to feed on the mats of soil accumulating in the vees of their own branches.

Being one of three females in the program also gave her a little frisson.

Her body, draped in towel and steam, shines with need. Even the gelid air strokes her like a sex toy.

An ice storm coats the town in a lapidary crust

The sun cuts starbursts in the needles’ verdigris, a thousand sconces of astral light. The great dinosaur plates of the trunks turn shades of orange, terra-cotta, and cinnamon.

Vistas open up through the green crenellations

Long past the hour when his clenched fists would have given out, they whoop descant to the storm.

Resilience, immanence, numen—qualities his discipline is notoriously poor in measuring

Adam marvels at her bulwark optimism, even after the routs she has suffered

He goes out back to check the culvert. It’s overflowing into an improvised creek through the rented porch