Treehouse

steverTreehouse1.jpg

Something about roots,

bone-like, tenacious,

that grip the moving ground,

the branches like umbrellas

bent back and broken by the storm,

the leaves veined references

to hands, and the sound of the wind’s

wild working against the leaves…

The boy collected the branches

and stored them under his bed.


Something about the tree seeped

into his dreams, the trunk a hallway,

the branches outlined rooms,

and his family finding shelter

in the boughs, listening

to the sound language of leaves.

He did not see a garden, apples, or any fires.

Everyone huddled together to keep warm.

steverTreehouse2.jpg

Margo Taft Stever’s collections include Cracked Piano (CavanKerry Press, 2019) shortlisted and finalist for the 2021 Eric Hoffer Awards; Ghost Moose, 2019; The Lunatic Ball, 2015; The Hudson Line; Frozen Spring, and Reading the Night Sky. Read more.


Margo Stever’s “Treehouse” was previously published in West Branch Literary Journal and in the chapbook Reading the Night Sky.

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Visiting the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Scotland

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The Moss Method