I have a maple tree in the front yard. It's too close to the driveway and to the power lines. The roots come up through what's left of the grass. It doesn't shade the house, only the yard, preventing me from growing grass or anything else. And, the bottom limbs are too low so I bump my head on it when I'm trying to mow. So I should have it taken out.
I know some tree guys who would be happy to remove it (for a price, of course). The main tree guy says maple trees are just the weeds of the tree world anyhow. But still, it's a tree. It's a living thing. Can I really just have it chopped down for my own convenience? What would the other trees think?
The Hawthorne Tree
Side by side, not
hand in hand: I watch you
walking in the summer garden—things
that can’t move
learn to see; I do not need
to chase you through
the garden; human beings leave
signs of feeling
everywhere, flowers
scattered on the dirt path, all
white and gold, some
lifted a little by
the evening wind; I do not need
to follow where you are now,
deep in the poisonous field, to know
the cause of your flight, human
passion or rage: for what else
would you let drop
all you have gathered?
Louise Gluck
