sb + sm
Etched into the flesh of a tree
Only now do I understand
The significance of
That brutal gesture
For years I regretted my sin
An assault on that lovely tree
For something so obvious
It didn’t need stating
But now I see
The requirement of the cut
The purpose of the sap
The risk of disease
The scarring over years
Then, the child in me
Wanted a public voice
A brush with defiance
To dare so boldly, to cave in publicly
To this thing called love
Previously the domain of grown-ups
How dare I sit at the adult table
But now,
Today
I understand
I saw that tree again
With the eyes of an old man
And for the first time
From a new place
I understood my sin
Of having scarred that tree
I understood everything
Youthful egocentric desire
Disregard for others
The vulnerability I inflicted
Unwarranted injury to an innocent
The permanence of scarring
But mostly
Today
I saw
sb + sm
Was
Still
There
scribblerbrown 