The Maple Tree by John Grey

Come November,



every five-lobed leaf



of the backyard maple



has been torn from its moorings



by over-zealous wind.



 



Dead brown corpses



of once proud foliage



litter the lawn,



leave behind the gnarled bones



of what was once a tree



 



The pastels that sustained me



through the turn in the weather



are replaced by jagged branches



and a drab gray trunk.



 



On a lonely afternoon,



I stare out at that barren maple.



How I’m feeling



comes sharply into focus.

About the Poet:

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in New World Writing, Santa Fe Literary Review, and Lost Pilots. Latest books, ”Between Two Fires”, “Covert” and  “Memory Outside The Head” are available through Amazon. Work upcoming in the Seventh Quarry, La Presa and California Quarterly.