“Planting Pine Trees in the Backyard,” New Era, Aug. 1992, 20
Planting Pine Trees in the Backyard
Father’s hands
like knotted roots
teach me to plant
his burlap-balled
starter trees
as I dig holes
on the backyard hill
two feet down
in Cambrian stone
and white sand.
I use my hands
to plant pines
that will outlast me
through winters, reach up
between telephone wires,
the ringed years adding
circle on circle
for my posterity.