And out of the earth made the Lord God to
grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight
Genesis 2:9
Father taught us the Latin names of trees
and we remember: Quercus alba Ulmus
americana though we rolled our eyes
at his recitals Best of all we loved
the black ash in summer: we'd sprawl below
its oval canopy in the cool shade
or shoot out over the pond on the swing
he made The smooth gray bark left powder
on our fingers Father said Indians
made baskets from its wood
Now in the drift
of December when its leaves are gone
I stare at this stern skeleton
of tree against snow Only in silhouette
can you see its symmetry the pattern
and structure of a long life its trunk
dividing high in a giant V the large
and smaller branches arching upward
the sturdy twigs like crosses against the sky