These Trees

These trees spout black eyes,
wield blunt branches like batons,
but they’re also prone to Envy’s sting,
and the invasiveness of spring.

They’ve weathered winter
as cacti weather drought:
all prickles and girth–
their bark now warms, waxen,
to the sly affections of Mother Earth.

They hesitate in the face of change,
goiters, worry of gangrene, and
the unseen pathogens of sunlight.
Porcupines, all of them,
designed to defend
with callousness and cataracts.

But down on the base,
just where the trees playfully
touch meadow, there’s a sly
gape in the chains of bark—
sesame-brown, soft, unwrinkled,
a cave opens, ready to be explored
by prime, patient hands.

11 responses to “These Trees”

Hobbo

I loved this, very evocative of springtime.🙂

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1. K.Hartless
  
  I’m so glad you enjoyed it. This spring feels especially good after such a winter.
  
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Mister Bump UK

Yes I see buds here, it’s like everything is getting ready but only the snowdrops and primroses have started yet.

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1. K.Hartless
  
  We have crocuses–yellow and purple. They just magically spread out like a rug that wasn’t there the day before. There’s a relief to see things changing after so much of the same.
  
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  1. Mister Bump UK
    
    do you have a garden? Several years ago I planted all sorts of early bulbs actually in the lawn. That looks lovely when they all just nuzzle through. It has the added advantage of not having to mow the lawn until about June!
    
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  2. K.Hartless
    
    No, sadly I don’t have a personal garden here, although the English garden is just meters from my door. I do enjoy it. I had a garden at home purple tulips out front, in the back veggies-tomatoes, squash, green beans, zucchini. I’d put my babies in a wheelbarrow and garden, they’d giggle and as they got older they’d dig and assist with weeds. Yeah, I miss it.
    
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  3. Mister Bump UK
    
    I thought you were gonna say you’d plant them! IAnd I was not going to argue.)
    Frankly, my garden was simply hard work to keep it maintained. I suppose I simply did not have enough time, but all I ever seemed to do was to cut thinks back. I never really had the hours of fun that we see, planting things and watching them grow.
    We brought back lots of tulips from Holland but we made the mistake of bundling them with daffodils. The daffs still come up but the tulips only came up once.
    
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  4. K.Hartless
    
    I would love to be planting this spring. 😉 The deer loved the flavor of our tulips, so we had to keep them near the house.
    
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  5. Mister Bump UK
    
    yup we have them all around here too but the tend not to come into the gardens.
    
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abigfatcanofworms

Very lovely!!!

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Thank you. I appreciate your comment.
  
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