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Joanne the Poet - The Poetry of Joanne M. Clarkson

Poem about Trees in Humana Obscura

My poem “Asymmetry” is in the Summer 2025 issue of Humana Obscura. This is an especially gorgeous journal because of the large amount of art and photography that accompanies the excellent writing. Here is the link to the online journal: www.humanaobscura.com. The poem is below:

Asymmetry

Firs are not symmetrical.

Neither the maple. Cedars like gods’ arms

crooked to every season of forgiving.

Each pine a lightning strike.

Each willow a map toward water

the way a break in the heart might look.

The trunk of a single tree

is a natural atlas. And bones of oak

become violins in a wind storm.

No one book contains the names of all

the leaves. No single illustration

gets the skeletons right.

Barren and white, poplar becomes

a landmark, its roots the true asymmetry,

paths the deer might follow

traveling last year’s rain.

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