The Hedge & The Tree
The Hedge
The Hedge Has One Lumpen Form
It Cares Nothing for Itself
It Can't Afford To Lose Its Form
For Then It would Be Nothing
As Long As It Has a Lumpen Form
It Can At Least Call Itself
A Self-Respecting Hedge
The Most Glorious Hedge
Is Perhaps The Most Banal
The Hedge Of Hedges
Would Be A Hedge And Nothing More
A Comprehensive Display
Of All Its Possibilities
Would Not Take Long To Witness
It Shows Us Little More
Upon Scrutiny
Than A Passing Glance Would Equally Provide
A Hedge Can Only Lose
By Surrendering The Territory It Demarcates
It Can Win Even Less
We See It Lumpen
Without Any Visible Narrative Of Its Evolution
It Sits There
Creating A Tame And Predictable Border
Between One Uneventful Place And Another
A Reliable Structure But Little More
It Nevertheless Welcomes Us Home
A Stoic Guardian OF The Family Property
In Every Weather
Steadily Guarding
It Is The Man That Many Men Become
The Tree
The Tree Has Many Branches
It Loves Them All
It Can Afford To Lose A Few
Even All
As Long As Its Sap Still Rises
But The Most Glorious tree
Is The One That Spins All Its Glories Before Us
As A Comprehensive Display
Of All Its Possibilities
It Shows Us Its Every Turn
Its Winning And Losing
Pride And Embarrassment
Its Story And All Its Stories
We See It In The Round
Every Twist, Adventure, Reflection And Hesitation
Sometimes Doubling Back
It Crosses Itself
Creating A Wild And Sturdy Matrix
A Rapid Structure Of Supportive Arms
It Holds Up And Out To All
Its Limbs In An Elusive Symmetry
As If Welcoming
Every Weather
Fearlessly Into Its Heart
Its Bravery Is Its Beauty
It Is The Man I Aim To Be.
© 2010 Paul O'Kane