Almond Blossom

--Gerald Locklin

if you don’t look closely at

the rings of the branches,

it could be by anyone.

well, anyone who was among

the greatest painters of the

century: matisse, perhaps.

anyone who had studied

prints from the japanese.

anyone who loved light,

and living things.

anyone who believed in

the rebirth of nature,

the seasons of existence,

the blossoming of the creative.

anyone who had

absorbed the centuries,

had mastered his techniques

and from whose eyes

the scales had fallen.

Gerald Locklin: “I turn 60 in 2001, and most of my time is taken up teaching, writing, corresponding, swimming laps, or walking the dog. I think it’s probably a bad idea for poets to aspire to be interesting. Simplify, simplify!”