Volunteer Maple

From a sapling 

decades ago,

the volunteer maple

in the row of pines

behind the barn,

arrayed with hand-sized 

green leaves,

now shows itself 

more substantial 

than the pair 

we planted 

next to the house 

for shade.

I don’t yet know

what the lesson is here,

only that 

after all this time

I am just noticing

how the tree took root

and thrived

without our intention

compared to everything

around it 

needing care:

astilbe, 

painted fern,

hydrangea, and lilac –

even the lawn,

which has become

almost half clover

for the bees 

to feast on,

softly buzzing, 

during their season 

of need.

--Jason Harlow (son of a colleague, friend, and Vermont neighbor).

[Photos of the Volunteer Maple].