Representation

bonsai represents “tree”
but also is itself a tree
bent in the direction the wind, even if
imaginary, is blowing

scholar’s stone on the desk
shapes a terrain of cracks and slopes,
liftable mountain

the man who was my father
sits with his damaged hands
in his lap, searching
for a word
but still might make
a small joke
sarcastic and affectionate

although I don’t
sentimentally
remember what
he showed me
stars? fireflies?

and yet
it must have been
this world.

-- Miriam Sagan