when we bought our house
three years ago
the yard was a jungle.

the grass was 2 feet long,
full of brambles and bamboo...
trees as tall as the sun.

we have decided after last winter's
devastating ice storm
that we have no choice...
we have to take down some of the trees...
nine of the trees, to be painfully exact.

this morning,
armed with purple yarn,
i marked them for death...
trees that have been standing longer than
i have been...
and as i put my arms around them to tie the yarn,
i felt sad.

our neighbor,
whose house they will fall on,
should they ever blow ever,
is
very
happy.