Lawrence Hall
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https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com

                               You Do Not Prune an Apple Tree

You do not prune an apple tree, oh, no
You must become one with the apple tree
With saw and loppers, not unlike a surgeon
An especially conscientious one

The intrusions of vines must be excised
And the cancerous ******* growths pulled away
Dead limbs must be diagnosed and sawn down
And the poor weeping ends tended with love

You tell the tree to take the winter off
And call you first thing in the coming spring