^ Halloween: "Above me rises a dead tree."

 "Above me rises a dead tree."

Dr Abe V Rotor

"We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones." - Stephen King

Lady devotee Angie Tobias turns her attention to Mother Nature in the 

midst of today's massive destruction of the environment symbolized 

by this driftwood artwork made by the author for Lent 2024.

When the sky is gray and red in sorrow,

     the fields bare and dry all around,  

the sun beats hard on every levee and furrow;

     I wonder where I am and bound.

No shade to find comfort even for a while, 

     save a tree standing on a hill,

where some birds briefly rest and again fly,

     leaving me empty at the scene.   

I look up and wonder, "Is this Golgotha?"

     No sound, no breeze, but eerie

like I were in the heart of the Sahara;

     above me rises a dead tree. ~

Standing skeleton of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla).

Lagro, QC, photo by the author, circa 1994

I have lost you forever,

Now a silhouette in the sky,

Spreading a gospel to remember,

For the mindless passerby.

You have lived half of your life,

Yet fullest at the Throne;

Earning it well with strife,

Where every seed is grown.

The birds now a flock,

The child a man;

You bid them all the luck,

And now they are gone.

In youth you sheltered me,

A thought I can't be free,

I atone for your brevity,

With a thousand and one tree.

           - AV Rotor, Light in the Woods 1994

"The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for your wits to grow sharper." - Eden Phillpotts

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AI Overview
Meaning of “Above Me Rises a Dead Tree” 

in Dr. Abercio V. Rotor’s Halloween Article

In Dr. Abercio V. Rotor’s Halloween piece “Above me rises a dead tree”, the phrase is both a literal image and a symbolic meditation on nature, loss, and the human condition.

Literal context
The article describes a desolate, gray‑skied landscape with barren fields, no shade, and a solitary tree on a hill. Rotor notes that the tree is a standing skeleton of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), photographed in Lagro, QC, and evokes the feeling of being in the “heart of the Sahara” — silent, windless, and eerie naturalismavrotor.blogspot.com. The “dead tree” is a real, physical object in the scene, but it also serves as a visual metaphor.
Symbolic meaning
According to Rotor, the dead tree is a symbol of environmental loss and the fragility of life. The piece is framed within his broader “Living with Nature” theme, where he links Halloween’s pagan roots to ecological awareness Living with Nature - School on Blog by Dr. Abercio V. Rotor+1. The tree’s death reflects the “massive destruction of the environment” and the absence of life’s vitality, even in a natural setting naturalismavrotor.blogspot.com. It also carries a memento mori tone — a reminder of mortality, the passage of time, and the impermanence of all things.
Poetic and thematic layers

• Nature’s grief: The “gray and red in sorrow” sky and bare fields suggest a world in mourning, with the dead tree as a focal point of that sorrow naturalismavrotor.blogspot.com.
• Human reflection: The narrator’s question, “Is this Golgotha?” links the scene to a place of suffering and sacrifice, implying that environmental decay is a modern‑day crucifixion.
• Memory and legacy: Rotor’s poem within the article speaks of a tree that once sheltered, of “a thousand and one tree” as atonement, and of the “gospel to remember” — suggesting that the dead tree is a witness to past life and a call to remember and protect it naturalismavrotor.blogspot.com.
• Spiritual/ecological message: In his other Halloween writings, Rotor blends nature spirits, pagan traditions, and ecological ethics Living with Nature - School on Blog by Dr. Abercio V. Rotor+1. Here, the dead tree can be read as a “nature spirit” or a silent messenger, urging humanity to heed the consequences of its actions.

In short
“Above me rises a dead tree” is both a descriptive image of a desolate landscape and a metaphor for environmental destruction, mortality, and the need for remembrance. It invites the reader to see the natural world as both a living and a dying entity, and to reflect on the human role in its preservation.~