Tree Trimmer

To trim a tree is such an art,
When tall oak branches reach the sky.
An arborist must clamber up
To deftly wield his power saw.

When tall oak branches reach the sky,
They stretch to places, like my roof.
Winds can cause a house-top hazard
As banging branches whip and beat.

An arborist must clamber up
To reach the true offensive limb.
With monkey-like tree climbing skill,
He’ll execute tree surgery.

To deftly wield his power saw,
He’ll stand in places squirrels hang out.
A job not for the faint-of-heart,
A slip make cause grave consequence.


Author’s Notes:

I recently hired a tree trimming company to trim back some limbs of a large oak tree that had limbs hanging over my roof. We had to wait until after the first frost to trim an oak tree without doing it harm. This picture was of one of the workers in action. As you might observe, that was quite a daring stance, and an intriguing cut. I call that cut a “Behind-the-Back-Leg-Tweener-Clip.” Do you see the sawdust? It moved me to write this verse.

This poem is a Retourne Poem.
A Retourne is a poem done in a French style, having a tumbling Refrain. A Refrain is where a line , or several, repeat. In this case, three lines repeat in a tumbling order. Much French verse from the Middle Ages is written with a refrain. However unlike verse of that same period, it is unrhymed which makes it suitable for short narratives.

The Retourne structure is as follows:
1. A poem in 16 lines, made up of 4 quatrains.
2. Syllabic, 8 syllable lines. No specific meter
3. Written with a tumbling refrain. The lines of the first stanza provide the opening refrain for each of the ensuing stanzas.
4. Total rhyme scheme is: xABC Axxx Bxxx Cxxx, where tne x is an unrhymed line.
5. Unrhymed.

This photograph was taken by the author’s neighbor, Ken on November 4, 2016, and published with his permission.

Synergy of Poetry and Verse. Author, Poet, Photographer

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