1. 

A house grew up among the oaks.
Their high boughs seemed eternal like
the day after tomorrow. 

2.

An entire acre of fall leaves–a crazy

quilt in reds and oranges. We piled into
industrial garbage bags. 

3.

They used to say, in winter,
from the house you couldn’t see

the trees for the snow. 

4.

Ice storms felled one tree.
Heavy wet snow took two more.
Then: pine bark beetles. 

5. 

In the house among the trees
lived a century, plump
in its middle age. 

Now, it grows thin–

but it still hangs on.