Cleavng the tree

The New Tree

“And many a

new thing understood”

—Ezra Pound, “The Tree,”

Personae (1926)

i stood still—i was a tree

in the woods—knowing things

unseen before—of daphne

and my laurel—bent brow knew
the god-fucking—couple who

grew elm-oak—amid the wold

i stood still—i was a tree

until the gods—came to me

my heart—their new home

that they might—do again

this wondrous—thing called

standing still—being a tree

a new tree—amid the wold

and all that—once rank

and folly—many a new

thing—i understood again