I see you sitting there every morning

Leaning to the left as I head east

The lonely white birch tree on I-88

I don’t know if I should envy your independence

Or sympathize your loneliness

I wonder how you got there

Stranded on the median of an interstate highway

No other trees anywhere near you

No one around to care for you

Yet there you stand for all to see

Jutting out at a 30 degree angle

Like a teenage girl in a high school hallway

With her books resting on her hips

I picture walking up to you

Carving my name in your trunk

So you’ll know who’s been thinking of you

Because you can’t provide shade for someone

You can’t hold a hammock or a clothesline

You can’t decorate someone’s backyard

You can’t offer yourself for fire

You can only sit and watch people drive by

Without them ever noticing you

I picked a theme song for you

“A Forest” by The Cure

He says, “I’m lost in a forest, all alone”

It’s obvious, I know, but I have a hunch

You’re a bit goth, a bit mysterious, I can tell

I see you sitting there every evening

Leaning to the right as I head west

I chase the sun home, unaware of what awaits

But you don’t have to worry about that