Cut Down Trees Before God Cut Him Down with Lightning

Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem

“Weeping Cherry” (on heartwood) by Charles Randall Stanfield

He cut down trees.  He chopped off limbs.  He called

Himself a surgeon.  Sometimes clients chose

To have their oaks trees treated (or . . . so-called)

For better views.  Men wanted to compose

A scene from picture windows.  Birds lost nests

But then, so what?  Esthetics were the thing.

Such privileged and entitled men were pests.

To them these noble trees were types of bling.

He guessed he could not reason with these guys.

He did the brutal job, packed up and left.

They cared about their selfish, picky eyes.

His heart was forced to carry sawed down heft.

  He later painted canvasses of trees

    As penances for other men’s disease.