The Ghosts of Jay MillAr

Jay MillAr

Copyright © 1998 by Jay MillAr

CANADIAN CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION DATA

Millar, Jay, 1971-
   The Ghosts of Jay MillAr

Contents: Book of leaves: from The ghosts of Jay MillAr / Conwenna Stokes – Bur'd: from The ghosts of Jay MillAr / Alex Cayce – Heartrants: from The ghosts of Jay MillAr / H. Azel -Perfectly ordinary dreams: from The ghosts of Jay MillAr / James Liar – Short g(hosts: from The ghosts of Jay MillAr / John Elliott.

ISBN 1-55245-034-1

This epub edition published in 2010. Electronic ISBN 978 1 77056 070 3.

I. Title.

PS8576.I3157G46 1998   C8ll'.54     C98-931301-8

PR9199.3.M.45693G46 1998

Conwenna Stokes

If you don't like poetry don't write poetry.

if you don't like poets don't be a poet,

but feel free to write as much poetry as you like.

there is a difference.

any community is fictional

as is what might be

gathered randomly within the landscape

and the witchcraft available at all times

could even cause the greatest of trees

to burst into leaves one day.

it's that easy

if you don't believe in witchcraft you

couldn't possibly hope to exist.

can't deal ‘em ya can't play,

everything falls but the game goes on.

   J.M.

 

Tree Culture – Some Field Notes
¹

APPENDAGES
: Not the branches, which are part of the body of the tree. Unlike many other species, tree appendages are not directly connected to the body, like the fingers, the breasts, or the penis of mammals. Careful observation revealed that each tree community has its prey and predators, its decomposers and recyclers, its planters and harvesters, its mechanics, its writers, nests, artists, leaves and musicians. These are the appendages of the tree. While they may spend some time physically attached to the tree, for the most part they are in fact entirely separate beings, free to migrate away from the tree itself, like satellites with a chosen place of residence. It is through these living satellites that communication between trees is possible.

ART
: Mild gentle brush strokes. Glory.

CHILDHOOD
: As with every species, the childhood of trees is pure witchcraft.
²
Worship of the sun. Worship of the rain. Worship of the earth, the wind, the clouds. Worship of the grubs, the birds, the squirrels, the chipmunks, the rattlesnakes, the rabbits, the deer, the butterflies, the nuts, the
praying mantis,
the woodpeckers. Worship of the world and meditation on fire.

DREAMS
: Contrary to popular belief, the dreams of trees are not located beneath the surface of the earth mingled among the roots as a kind of ‘ghost tree'. The roots of any species of tree are simply roots, as the earth in which they live is simply earth. This idea of ‘hidden dreams' has been a misconception of popular culture for some time now, not only in regard to trees, but with most creatures of the planet. And while having some clever features, such as the metaphor of the ‘underground' (ref. Greek mythology) or the subconscious, it is only a limited vision. Once again humans have managed to overlook the obvious. Trees are themselves dreams.
³
We believe this because they obviously communicate in images, as opposed to speech. What they dream is of their own mind and anyone or thing that comes in contact with them. As the leaves of the deciduous are shed during the final months of the year the various dream states of the tree fall away one by one, until the very centre of the dream is exposed. Conifers, on the other hand, live entirely masked in a dream, and can never be awakened, It
is difficult to view the exact centre of any deciduous tree's dream state, even in winter, when all the leaves have fallen. This is due to the natural masking qualities of snow. Just before the leaves return it is possible to catch a glimpse.

FALLING
: It is as though the tree had become wise enough to teach its children a thing or two about mortality.
⁴
We believe that this is why trees are capable of outliving almost every species on the Earth
⁵
, the only close exception being the great sea turtle.

MIGRATION
: (Time Travel via the emotions) Since it is consciousness that gives root to The Tree, migration occurs whenever there is no trace of consciousness present within a three kilometer radius. In the case of such an absence, trees are free to voyage throughout the world by phasing in and out of time upon any available frequencies. This was discovered only recently after careful observation of specific trees grown in a semi-vacuous state. These trees, unable to recognize any forms of consciousness nearby, allowed observers to witness their ghost-like appearance, the mysterious translucence of leaves shifting in time. Most trees, however, actually fear migration and time travel of any kind, and are much more comfortable in a permanent ‘rooted' state. This is the reason why they invite many creatures to actively live their lives in and about them. One should not ignore the species of renegade trees, however, those who choose to live in harsh conditions (cold regions, high altitudes, and the like). These are the solitary dream-travellers, who wish for solitude, shifting through the space of time and wind.

PHILOSOPHY
: They are your thoughts. Think them. No One Cares. Safety in numbers. Think.

POETRY
: As far as can be determined, the poetry of trees contains no known words recognizable in any language of the human race.
⁶
It has been determined to be quite punctual in nature, and often it is up to any creatures who live within their branches to become their voice. This reveals the humble nature of trees, as anyone who hears this poetry will tend to assume it is the authors who are reciting it. Trees are in a sense ghost writers of the permanent kind, and wish to remain anonymous, using whatever pseudonyms available in the surrounding environment. Although it is mostly speculation, the poetry of trees is both
open, in a kind of gentle explosive manner, and self-reflective, in a violent implosive manner. This is to say that the poetry of trees moves inwardly and outwardly at the exact same moment, which may also help to explain why trees appear not to move.

SEX / SEXUAL PRACTICES
:
Each tree is a long slow orgasm of summer.
Deciduous trees are generally more sexually satisfied at the end of the summer months and are therefore too tired to maintain their foliage during the winter months. As long as they have leaves, however, these trees are entirely female. Only after their leaves are shed do they become male. Conifers are therefor female for the entire year, and are constantly in a state of orgasm. Thus the social interaction between trees in most forests is lesbian in nature. One will notice easily, walking casually through a woodlot during the summer, the soft leafy curves and gentle swaying motion of trees bathed in their leaves, as though they were walking sensuously through a dream. One will not notice this during the winter. Because conifers remain female throughout the long winter, this allows for a certain amount of heterosexual interaction throughout those months. It has been recorded that the temperature in the middle of a mixed forest will always remain a few degrees higher than a forest entirely made up of deciduous, or coniferous trees. However, this does not mean that trees prefer heterosexual activity to lesbianism; it is more that they enjoy a certain amount of variety within the forest. One can also experience the noticeable difference between the atmospheres caused by standing naked in a forest during the middle of summer and rolling naked in the snow of a forest at the height of winter.

SCIENCE
: There are no tree scientists. Yet we understand that they are extremely wise and spend most of their lives pondering the nature of their being. When they reach a certain age, they also begin to contemplate the nature of their being as it pertains to those creatures around them. There is a heightened awareness about a mature forest that cannot be denied.

SKIN
: Trees are undoubtedly all skin, down to the heart, naked as air. It becomes most noticeable as the leaves, which are not skin at all, but a kind of mental clothing
⁷
, are shed from the deciduous. This leaves the outer, fragmented layers of their rough skin and genitals exposed for several months. Some species of the coniferous, however, have admitted that their needles are not only a mental
sheath, but are an outer sheath of the skin. This allows other creatures of the local environment, even other trees, to live partially, or entirely, within their being for the entire year. We can only assume this enveloping nature is the same for the deciduous, but are fairly positive that this is the case at least for the months of spring and summer. It is strange, however, that despite their apparent shyness, it was the conifers who were willing to offer information about their culture, while the more exhibitionist deciduous declined any such information.

TREE SONGS
: Tree songs are always songs of prayer. Variations on the word ‘wish' usually make up most of the songs and have been heard both in person and from recordings made on hidden tape recorders (examples: ‘whoosh', ‘shush', or ‘wiiiith'). To whom or what these songs are directed has yet to be determined.
⁸
Yet we feel that those who receive such songs are grateful, for it cannot be denied that trees live the most benevolent of lives.
⁹

TELEPATHY
: (                                            )

WORK
: The work of trees is socio-political in nature, for obvious reasons.
¹⁰
Not only do trees live in the community of the forest, but there is also a community of leaves gathered upon each tree. Trees discovered very early that they could live most peacefully in a fourth dimensional system, which is why they evolved as they have. Leaves are all equal and are free to live as they please, while the wooden structure of their trees differ only in size, age, shape, and species, perfectly capable of living their lives as they wish. Each tree of the forest is also free to live as they please, in as much as they maintain their leaves to the best of their ability. The leaves of each tree are in fact eternal to the extent that the tree upon which they exist continues to live. Even though the leaves of deciduous trees fall away throughout the months of autumn, in no way does any leaf die until the entire tree dies, and each one is reincarnated as a leaf in exactly the same place of each branch. This system is essentially the same for conifers, although their leaves, or needles, fall away and are reincarnated throughout the year. It is in this way that the tree can care for each of its leaves equally and fairly, while the leaves may work together for the benefit of the tree, and for any of the tree's many appendages. It has taken trees millions of years to develop this political system, and maintaining it for the benefit of all levels of life is what the tree
considers its labor. We are confident that they are doing a fine job of it, simply because individuals cannot help feeling wonderfully easy going and free when in the presence of such beings.