The Politics of Pruning

The Politics of Pruning by debgrant

My lemon & lime trees

too big to move to shelter

during the freeze

lost their leaves

despite my tender coverings

and so I grieve

their buds nipped

and so I grieve

no harvest season.

I talked with neighbors

and read op-eds on the web

and a thousand people telling me

what to do.

How to prune. What to prune.

Wait for the new leaves to show or

cut it to the knees and hope it will grow

or pull it out, give it up for dead,

that is what the neighbor said.

Bodies of her garden piled on the curb.

Trees need water and good soil.

I can give them that.

I will give them time to tell me what to do

where and when to cut.

I will listen to the one most vulnerable

to my vote.

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