Tuesday, October 17, 2017

"Silver Maple" by Terri Lynn Cummings

Silver Maple
Terri Lynn Cummings 

Fortune stolen
limbs broken
trunk split

lightning slayed
an elder among 
the flock, fractured

Magnolia, Cherry
and Spruce, blue
sway in sorrow 

for neighbor and nest
abandoned 
to beetles, worms, and ants

All remains 
tuned 
to the pitch of Earth

and the green
tang
of release

Poet’s Notes:  Lightning destroyed a neighbor’s Silver Maple, an old gentleman who anchored their lawn. The family grieved as if the tree were human. In a way, it was, for the tree attended births and birthday parties, graduations, and marriages. The sentinel graced their lives and died, an abrupt departure that reshaped their view, yet continued in the ring of nature. 

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