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