Nearing Sixty Poem by RIC BASTASA

this time
two trees stood
upon an
empty field

above them
heavy clouds
about to
make a few
of the rainy
days

they've grown
leaves
and deeper roots
what with
the time they
have consumed
for all those
years

soon will
be the fruits
and then
the children come
to climb
and gather
what ripeness
is found

this time
the trees stand still
unbowed by
the storms and
the other calamities
of lighting
and thunder

more like
the two of us...