Poems by Ted Kooser
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Tree Removal
by Ted Kooser
From Canary Fall 2016
Ted lives on an acreage outside the village of Garland, Nebraska.
First the boom truck offers its cup
to the sixty-foot elm, just a sip
from a cheap white plastic mug
after all those years of service
fishing for weather. Then follows
wave upon wave of the chain saw,
a hot spray of sawdust.
But the tree makes its exit with grace,
going down slowly, one piece at a time,
hauling in the cool net of its shadow
and patiently folding it
into the boat of the clouds.
From Splitting an Order, Copper Canyon Press, 2014, with permission).
© Ted Kooser