Crutched Oak
This large oak
Arcs gracefully up and over a stream
And is supported by a crutch.
The base of the crutch
Is nearly in the stream.
Roughly at the point where the crutch
Meets the oak
The trunk fractures
Into three large branches
Then splits, and splits again,
Into countless shoots,
which curl and curve,
Up and down,
Bearing leaves.
The leaves have mostly fallen now.
The gnarled oak is nearly bare,
Leaning on its crutch,
A living thing,
A work of art,
A friend.
It reaches into empty space,
Into unclaimed sun,
Supported, crutched—
Loved.
—Matthew Eighmy
