by Kathryn Stepanski
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A beloved palm and pine tree mark California’s center. Now they’re being cut down. —The Guardian, July 6, 2024 |
Where Northern California meets Southern California they stand,
Phoenix Canariensis and Cedrus Deodara.
The palm and the cedar pine
on the route from Calexico to Vancouver,
over a hundred years their roots have grown.
To be chopped down as highway lanes expand,
turning into asphalt at the fate of Caltrans.
Kathryn Stepanski is the author of The Career Search Book. Her writing has appeared in The Oakland Tribune, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Burner Magazine, and Jokes Review. She is a teacher in Oakland, California.