Leafless Branch in Spring - July 7, 2024

while all the other branches in green skirts

have been twirling for days now

one twig stands stiff

neither sun nor wind can wake it

winter must have smothered it

though no one seems to care

the songbirds of June just

sing happy songs   not yet time

for the funeral refrains of fall

only the mother tree notices

but there’s no time to pray now

too many young leaves to care for

perhaps later  during a night rain

she’ll bow her head

and shed a few tears

and try not to wake them