by Thomas J. Erickson
There are decades where nothing happens
and there are weeks where decades happen.
Out near the trout stream,
there is “the Pine Tree”
a towering white pine that somehow
escaped the blade of the lumberjack.
It was a signpost and a beacon
and we could see it from anywhere
while we walked across the plains to fish there
—me, Joe and Dad and Ed
until the dusk called us home for blueberry pie
and trout and potatoes fried in lard.
That was decades ago. Earlier this summer,
the tree started to fall.
I was afraid it would be down
in a matter of weeks.
Today, though, the tree is still there. By November,
we might still be able to see it on the horizon.
Thomas J. Erickson is an attorney in Milwaukee where he is a member of the Hartford Avenue Poets. He likes to sit in court and write poetry before his cases are called. His latest poetry book is Cutting the Dusk in Half (Bent Paddle Press, 2022).