psychopomp tree

An old juniper tree guards the gate to the underworld.

Jagged and dry, he dies.
But new branches reach through the cracks.
Living and dead, he stands between worlds.

The gate to the underworld is between two great ponderosa pines.
For only their thick puzzle-bark can withstand the flames.
All who come to Old Juniper forget
whether they are the living, decending
or the dead, ascending.
Which way is in or out?
Only Old Juniper knows,
and he never tells.