#45 Echo Tree- Henry Dumas
This is a deeply spiritual scene, more of a dialogue than a
short story. Two boys in the forest after Leo has died. One boy, Leo’s brother
is a skeptic, a city boy, a non-believer. He’s being lead to the Echo Tree by
Leo’s best friend. He’s a devout believer, connected fully to the world around
him. They’ve come together to search for something, peace, closure, direction,
etc.
He warns the skeptic to open himself up:
“If you don’t believe in the echo tree believe what it hears
from the spirits and tells you in your ear, then you’re in trouble.”
“…iffn you don’t get that hard city water out of your gut,
you liable to taint yourself.”
Be quiet, accept the world, listen to the spirits and they
will give you their wisdom.
“…[the sun is] gatherin in all the words talked in the
daylight. Next, them catcher-clouds churns ‘em up into echoes. When the time is
right, the echo tree will talk.”
Another great piece by Dumas, so different from anything
else out there. It’s powerful, meaningful, stark, and beautiful. The supernatural nature of his writing allows
for higher levels of discourse, going beyond the mundane and trite trivialities
of everyday existence. He reaches for something better, and has tapped into it
with ease.
Notable passages: “The sound pierces the wind. It rides down
into the valley, rolls up…towards the sun. It resounds like a note of thunder
made by children instead of Gods.”
“There is silence…the silence of an empty lung about to
breath in.”
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