When you asked me to describe the tree,
I gave you a syntax of words: tendril,
roots, trunk, limb, leaves, fall.
You said you didn’t like the parallel.
Too much style.
So you shoveled me a hole.
I said it’s empty like a skull. It needs a tree
& gristly roots to tunnel though
the sides
& gather up…She grew weary,
dropped to the ground, put her hand in the hole,
& slept til dreams grew out her ears.
Tom Holmes is the editor of Redactions: Poetry, Poetics, & Prose and the author of six collections of poetry. His writings about wine, poetry book reviews, and poetry can be found at his blog, The Line Break: http://thelinebreak.wordpress.com.
