Etched

Central Indiana

nighttime

driving the interstate northbound

muscles sore from climbing hills

in Brown County.

October full moon

fat and flush in the sky

suddely we pass an open field

and there it is

Oak tree perfection!

silhouetted in silver light

every gnarly

gilded

intricate

aspect

of its bearing

cast out.

I dragged that oak

by its humongous roots

in my fist-sized heart

for twenty years

and

slowly

over time

it etched

each

nobly

curved

branch

inside mine.