Bonsai Tree in a Classroom

Bonsai Tree in a Classroom

See how it moves from shallow terracotta-

out beyond this air-conditioned afternoon.

Imagine for a moment, other, harder

aspects: the blackboard a dark winter blown

ocean; the muddle of desk and chairs

an expanse of cliff rock where the wind-storm

stops for nothing, shoving from this cold bare

fall to a long ravaged beach, the forlorn

cry of seabirds, stone, and sticks. Then it's not

impossible to see this old and twisted

jade tree pushed to the limits, almost

fallen, prostrate, clung to a last ledge.

Stillness on your table in the classroom-

shifting senses, from passivity to poem.

Jeff Guess

©Jeff Guess 2017