Once overlooking
Curley’s garden,
it had stood
amazingly tall
and brusque
like a celery stick
plopped right
next to a small house
and an unpaved driveway
for so long
that, after having
been away for years,
I had to blink twice
to believe
I wasn’t seeing
a ghost tree there
standing not so small
in its place.
-Raymond Luczak
Raymond Luczak is the author and editor of 22 books, including Flannelwood (Red Hen Press) and Lovejets: Queer Male Poets on 200 Years of Walt Whitman (Squares & Rebels). He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and online at raymondluczak.com.