And a Short One

I honed this haiku-like short poem while walking the woods of Washington state, daily for 2 weeks. A year later, the words are very much like the original, but with key changes in where lines return, a changed or repositioned word here or there.

Madrona
Yearning, twisting Madrona tree
peels back his crimson foreskin, exposing
the raw desire of the Earth
and a sleek skin of green beneath.


Here is the original version:
Madrona
Twisting, yearning Madrona peels
back his own red foreskin, exposing
the raw need of the Earth and a sleek
skin of green beneath.