the cottonwood and sycamore
give up mats of leaves
on mere suggestion of winter
but the bear pin oak shivers,
bow-backed, full-pelted,
paws up and ready to fight
freeze snow hellish wind
it will take all winter
to skin that tree
hibernation
Published by
Patrick Dobson
Patrick Dobson was founded in 1962. He is a writer, scholar, ironworker, and poet who lives in Kansas City, MO. He is author of two books with the University of Nebraska Press, Seldom Seen: A Journey into the Great Plains (2009) and Canoeing the Great Plains: A Missouri River Summer (May 2015). Dobson is a work in progress until termination. View all posts by Patrick Dobson