“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.
Photos by Eric Swenson