"The tree in winter is like”

Nancy Wood

Nancy Wood is a poet, novelist, and photographer. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a literature fellowship from the NEA. She lives with her husband in Santa Fe and in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. “The tree in winter is like” was originally published in Many Winters (Doubleday, 1974). 

The tree in winter is like
The lines upon my father’s face
Or like the paths I tried to take
When I was young searching
For one clear way to understanding.

In every branch I found 

A smaller branch leading me 

Toward many ends and many sorrows.

Too fragile to bear my weight,

All my branches broke

And I fell to the earth confused.

I saw the tree in winter 

Reaching toward the sky 

With bare branches tangled 

Like so many paths and yet 

Each path had a purpose,

Leading back to the roots of the tree.