DEAR MAPLE
You had to come down.
You were just too close to the house.
Your branches tapped on the windows
and your roots were upsetting the foundation
But, as I stood beside you, my fallen giant,
I couldn't help but count the rings.
I almost made it to a hundred
before your beginnings
crowded out my eyes.
A truck hauled you away
leaving nothing but the odd scattered leaf.
And the stump of course,
already claimed by foraging insects.
One hundred years of life,
now no more than remnants
scatter to the far fences --
a chunk of wood reduced to rot
and the feeding of the nameless.
My being here was your bad luck.
I have to keep that in mind those times
when I think I’ve made a difference.
ON A MORNING IN MAY
Red cardinal, blue jay, goldfinch,
perch on a nearby branch –
looks like they’re working on a spectrum.
The trees are in full regalia.
And the bird’s cry for a mate
is answered in a heartbeat.
The pond ripples as constant
as the wind.
A snowy egret steps
as slow as consideration.
Willows are in water-kissing mode.
And the morning sun
is on the lookout
for its own reflected self.
This is the view from my window.
Such modest ways
of holding nothing back.
THE MAN FROM THE NORTH
He comes down from the north.
Do not go looking for him.
He’s more spirit than solid flesh.
It’s too chilly out to manifest more.
Yes, there’s someone out there
but the light is as poor as our skin is thin.
So, we hunker down in our fire-warmed houses,
prefer not to make his acquaintance.
He’s grown so large, yet still invisible.
All presence. No substance.
We see the white bird
but not the shoulder it’s perched upon.
John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in New World Writing, River And South and The Alembic. His latest books, Bittersweet, Subject Matters and Between Two Fires are available through Amazon. He has upcoming work in Paterson Literary Review, White Wall Review and Flights.
.
PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL
Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles
Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Kindle Amazon International
Borderless 