Tulip Poplar
At first
a few leaves lay
scattered on the ground
but by Wednesday
whole yards were covered
Lawns
returned to green
only when weekend
gardeners shredded and swept the interlopers
It is early August, yet the Tulip Poplar doesn’t care
Years ago, its
broad yellow leaf
intrigued me, as
reaching between the
Manual of Woody Landscape Plants
And The Outer Lands
I found in the ‘Field Book’ – binding worn
pages, stained and dog-eared: lirodendron tulipifera
They tower
over the neighborhood
reaching 100 feet or more –
impressive girths rising from the earth
Not ready
to acknowledge
the unending march of time
I no longer seek
its most perfect leaf –
Stealing summer and
spewing leaves everywhere
they are the precursors of fall
Too soon, too soon.
