Weekend Cottage

by Sean O’Neill

Across the steep driveway
one fat tree had fallen
as though to shield the dirt
from the automotive blitzkrieg
of one car per week, or two.

Yet the trunk had been cut
to let what traffic there was
pass nimbly through the gap;
and that defense wound
cured in the winter sun.

It seasoned in the frost
as though time were
the liniment of healing
for new and livid scars.
But what of the old?

In the dark of winter
I stare through the stump,
reaching my gashes
up to the glittering Sun
to mend like damaged trees.

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Sean O'Neill was born in Scotland, but has lived in the USA for the past 15 years. He has published 17 collections of poetry and is the author of five novels and four non-fiction books, including the bestselling "How To Write a Poem: A Beginner's Guide.” He runs the Kolbitars Poetry Group in Lansing, Michigan, USA.