There Is a Tree

there is a tree inside

this house of paper kites

clothed in Christmas lights

under a roofless night

 

I want to cut through the sky above

in a rocket made of colored light bulbs

my metal shuttle works by magic love

like a space ranger in a fiction pulp

 

there is a boat outside

sailing watery-eyed

with a boy inside

over a frozen lake

 

she wanted to go out after him

with her patched pants and holes in her gloves

but he’s a winter boy and the lights dim

so she never said to that gentle soul

 

there is a tree inside

my sister is outside

I will leave in joyous ride

this Earth behind or collide