The Indifference of Trees*

The Indifference of Trees

 

When I was very young, I was abducted by a tree,

Manacled to a naked branch, and left hanging there forever.

Oh, then my darkest fears became my best ambitions!

 

But all the best of my noble endeavors

Are the offspring of early childhood traumas.

 

When those terrible things happened,

I could express only outrage

And inexplicable feelings

Of supernatural betrayal

 

But I learned to parse my response with sophistication

And the weight of universally approved denial,

And that allowed me to comfortably skirt

The reality of what I am and where I am �"

 

In my intercourse with others, to be sure!

But with even greater care in my inner dialogue.

 

Every horrifying event I experienced as a child

Involved a lesson in how the physical world

Is indifferent to my uninvited existence

I learned that trees do not care about

The plight of a darling little boy,

And that every physical object

Is a threat to his well-being

 

Therefore, I have sought career achievement,

Agitated for reform, and dutifully written poetry.

These activities distract me from revisiting too often

Or at least too deeply, the indifference of trees.