Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Ash

      1

 

pear shaped leaves

in a single group

5 to 7 in a bunch

the bark of the tree

resembles the maple

except the color

reminds you of

a cigarette freshly

put out

we examine

your sturdy stance

and the  seed bunches

held in a cluster

as if you are about

to reward the world

with a gift

 

     2

 

Fraxinus

the family name

of a sweet

flower whose

olive

relative have

filled our

guts

much as the

lilacs

have nourished

our souls

 

   3

 

young tree bark

black smooth and

lean

as if the wrinkles

and defined ridges

of life have not

yet formed

the long journey

of 250 years

 it is longer than the life

of the country

   i live in

probably

  wiser too

 

they say you

         come from Europe

did they bring you

    over

on the ships too?

 

or are you a real Pennsylvanian

or a native North  American

good for

hammer handles

furniture

baseball bats

arrows and bows

perhaps the stocks of rifles

useful and beloved

 

    4

 

i remember you

 from my youth

the seed pods

  that were so familiar

the seeds in the

middle of

two attached

propellers

when it fell from

the tree

   it helicoptered

spun its way down

until it safely

landed upon

   the ground

 

 

                                    6/28/2021

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