POEM: invasive species

invasive species

we planted it at the foot of some low hills
near a made-up border between two states
soon we moved it across that line
took it north, then west, then back east again
we tried to give it roots in new soil
but by that point, the damage was done
it hadn’t learned to reach deep into the earth
never figured out how to flourish in one place
like a Hollywood tumbleweed it rolled off-screen
passing by in the background of other people’s scenes
sometimes coming to rest, but not for long
for years we lost track of it, saw and heard nothing
until finally it came to rest in a valley
far from water, far from the home we’d tried to make
rocking back and forth in a wind only it could feel
but staying put, at least for the moment

/ / /

Jason Crane
11 April 2017
State College PA