HAND CARRY THE SWEET GUM TREE






















CARRYING GRANDPA GUM

He had tried air layering
and failed. He tried it twice
in fact, in successive years
when sap was running.
And he tried the same thing
on the Sweet Gum
in his son-in-law’s yard.
Same results.
Then, in the final mowing,
before turning the keys
to the house
over to new owners,
he saw the tiny tree
coming up from old roots
at the tree’s base.
He had his jack knife
in his pocket,
and he cut it out,
cradling the genetic code
leafing out in his cupped hands.

Jim Bodeen
7 June 2014

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