Cypress Knees
Some name them knees,
those roots of the cypress
trees in that murky swamp,
rising up out of the water,
though their legs beneath
them, the feet, the toes,
even the bodies down there
at the mud’s bottom still
haven’t shown up yet.
So far, it’s only those bold
knees that point the way.
Some say perhaps they rise
up just for balance, or
for air; I’ve heard of both.
But it’s probably not true
at all in that swamp where
alligators kill for play
and snakes live for poison.
Instead, those knees probably
rise because bones never
will stay down for long
where they are buried and
like to rise up out of their
watery graves to rattle us.
I know those knees are
that first awakening, that
restless beginning of how
the dead find their way back.
Sue Owen
What kind of tree is that?
It’s certainly a distinctive tree. The Bald, or Swamp, Cypress tree is the defining feature of a southeastern United States swamp. This conifer is deciduous, losing its lacy needles every fall.
The russet-red fall color of the needles is one of its appealing characteristics. The other is its knee.
The knee is that distinctive structure just above the roots. Their function is unknown, but they’re generally seen on trees growing in swamps. The knee might help aerate the roots, create a barrier to catch sediment and reduce erosion, assist anchoring the tree in swampy soil, or some combination of those possible functions.
The Shot
Last October I was scanning a Georgia swamp from the boat launch for compositions. I imagined the three large trees in front of me as some sort of guardians of the swamp. Since the water in front of the trees was full of chaotic flotsam, I took two different photographs.
The first shot was a short exposure to minimize the movement of the branches in the breeze. The second was a several minute exposure to turn the floating debris into appealing swirls. The long exposure also seemed to intensify the reflections.
Both images were brought into Photoshop and combined. To my eye, the swirls in the foreground water are a welcome invitation to journey into the rest of the image.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus