LILY BROWN
TO A TREE
It means microcosm, the shiny field
of fabric on the screen.
Eucalyptus is the object;
it means project. Bathe
in its leaves. Sob its oddity
to the sidewalk. Defend its non-nativity.
Take on the tree and fistfight
desire. Shadows lie: I see them:
features, limbs, ink with shifty
edges. Break it atypically, the day
to pieces, each differently
visible. Shade open so the street
is lined. Evening tree is salty
with dusk. Early sun distributes
risk. Its lineage casts shadows,
shadows that pull a tree down.
Broken, legible heap.