“I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree…”
The Himalayan Blackberry vines
have overwhelmed the alder like
a pride of lions gang-tackling wildebeest,
like sugar ants swarming an abandoned
piece of a piece of apple pie left
behind under the table.
The daggered tentacles, able to force
branches down toward the ground,
alter their lifetime trajectories,
showcasing in the years to visit
the bullies’ power to do as they please
and get away with it.