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268
a fall
their boughs fl at, in spaced layers;
maidens. One morning I fell
from the top of one of these
clear to the ground -- gradually,
bumping and crashing from one
sunlit layer to the next,
landing dazzled, on the ditch bank.
And up the east side, one tree
only, a willow that leaned
over the big ditch, the roots
having less to grip on that side;
the refl ection
her dainty foliage shadowed
in the brown water charmed me;
this tree blew down years ago;
parting the weeds I found
a piece of its trunk -- a rough
quarter moon of the gray wood,
weedy ground held in its curve.
viii
the trophy
A globe of bright haze, made up
of fi ne silvery fi bers
in hexagons that were braced against
each other
while each was supported by
a slim stalk extending
from a seed fi xed in the crown
at the center.
It looked fragile, but had withstood
strong gusts, last week, and it fl exed