Birches
Whatever possesses birches to undress
in the dead of winter, solitary and come-hither,
their papery spice-colored layers wavering
in the wet, weighty breeze?
The peeling layers go on revealing
what's underneath until it seems
there are more layers than there is tree.
A tree half-peeled is no less a tree,
any underbark revealed is nearly healed.
Copyright Jean Monahan
in the dead of winter, solitary and come-hither,
their papery spice-colored layers wavering
in the wet, weighty breeze?
The peeling layers go on revealing
what's underneath until it seems
there are more layers than there is tree.
A tree half-peeled is no less a tree,
any underbark revealed is nearly healed.
Copyright Jean Monahan