021216 every book

021216
—
Your Giving Tree
(not the one by Shel Silverstein)
gave a branch to make the pages
inside every book you read.

So when a book contains poems
you might call the result A Poetree
filled with ideas written on paper
like the leaves that speak to you
in the song Johnny Cash sings.

And they do:  they really speak
they talk to you.
And when you listen to what they say
they’ll take you away to explore the world:
the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly
the base and the divine readily unfurl

In the blink of an eye, with your mind
leaves of the tree give you access to everything:
knowledge, hopes, fears and dreams.

For all this and more, sometimes trees
give a lot, sometimes too much
when we take and don’t give back, they die.

So every time you read (or someone reads to you)
remember to thank Your Giving Tree
(including the one by Shel Silverstein)
for all the good it brings
(including the good you do)
including this book, this Poetree.

[a poem to begin Where the Sidewalk Ends]