Enclosed In Bark
The ninety-foot shadow emerges
five feet away from the curved asphalt.
Stars cast a second shadow,
Figures with craned necks
interwoven between massive branches.
Petrified in the vast landscape of dried bean pods.
When the wind blows,
leaves and branches crash against each other
mimicking waves breaking against the shore.
Three hundred to four hundred years ago
What have the crevices in its bark observed?
How many nests has its arms cradled?
How many bolts has struck near its roots?
The intensity of the chilled stars is replaced
double yellow lines
leading back to the city.