Book by Cover

for Collin

A lone tree in a field.
He likes that image –
used it once, briefly,
for an online profile
and here, more permanently,
on the cover of his first book.

The field is always
flat and unrelieved,
sparse grass.
The tree is always
the focal point:
sturdy, spreading

I like the strong trunk,
the generous width
of branches opening
to cup the air
and reaching, stretching:
bold, with delicate tendrils.

But wait. Is it light
that touches every surface –
trunk, branches, twigs?
Or a coating of lichen?
I look hard and see
no leaves. Is it snow?

“Better to Travel”
the title says.
I have seen snow
but not often,
and only on
high mountains.

I travel anyway
through the poems
and know their author
can weather storm,
ice, rain, all kinds of
dying, and stand.


18/12/09


Inspired by Collin Kelley's Better to Travel