Munday on Monday: Sycamore tree

The sycamore: its trunk (it seems)

Is butcher paper by the reams.

The countless scraps of bark below

Are gathered in a summer show

(As if papyrus scrolls of yore

Exploded in some ancient drawer.)

I heard a “pop” above, then felt,

And very nearly got a welt

From falling curvy paper bark;

Another stretch of trunk now stark.

Peculiar, how these trees are grown,

But sycamore is not alone

Responding to each daily stressor:

’Cause lots of us can’t handle pressure.

Don Munday

This story was originally published August 3, 2014 at 9:07 PM with the headline "Munday on Monday: Sycamore tree."