To a Tree by Lily Brown

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.

by Lily Brown
published in TYPO 9