Chuck’s Acer Bursts to
Final Oxblood Life
So bare all winter, now the little tree
Is bursting out towards rich red truth. The leaves
Evince a burgundy of promise, free
Of lack. Though still too pale each one perceives
Its destiny more clearly than before.
These neatly trenchant folds expand. They say
More strongly than they know what Jesus swore
Must be, explosively expressed the sway
Of all the cosmos when his breath first spoke
Creation, “Let there be…” Cocaine, once left
Behind, became banned winter. Charles broke
That white snow’s curse. This choice produced the cleft
Between his condemnation and the spring.
Each maple leaf became a widening wing.