WHITE DOGWOOD
Matt Pasca
Late March, New York
sunrise blends the treetops,
trunks left naked like coy
cartoons, covering up.
The train station roof,
church steeple and Atlantic
sky stretch unabated, no bough
to block. Yet this morning
a white dogwood
blossomed proudly
over Union Boulevard, obscuring
air with cloven frills, doilied
petals, a tree so bold
it screamed a Whoville scream,
just loud enough to hear.
I am here! it echoed
in my tiny car
blistered with red
nodes from a lagging oak,
one of the millions
wishing to be quicker
and less cynical. Soon
the white dogwood
will be common:
abundant and green—
mere scenery for yellow
shocks of forsythia
and bursting stalks
of summer, though
today it commands us
to change what we think
possible.
The Summer Gazebo Readings are held each Monday evening at 7pm in June, July & August. Each evening 4-5 authors and poets share their work from our Gazebo on Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. SGR is produced by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside. Funds raised through sponsorships help send underprivileged kids to Kamp Kiwanis each summer. This summer marks our 7th season!
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