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Gathering Trees


01.31.12 Posted in today's words by

Bob Tomolillo began his career in 1970. He worked at Impressions Workshop in Boston and at The Printshop in Amsterdam. He holds a BFA from University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an MFA from Syracuse University. He is a faculty member at the FAWC in Provincetown MA and a member of the Boston Printmakers since 1983. His lithographs have been included in collections domestically and overseas. In 2009 Bob was a co-winner of the Dayton Peace Museum’s International Peace Prize. His writing has appeared in journals such as South Jersey Underground, Shine Journal, Cavalier Magazine, Icelandic Review, and Spilling Ink Anthology. Visit his website.

Gathering Trees
By Bob Tomolillo

The children collected
the Christmas trees
discarded after the week
of holiday passed
and the dry needles
collected on the floor
and the scent of pine
diminished.

Cast out on the street
they lined the block.
So we gathered them
to honor them one
final time.
We stacked,
interlocked,
built an enclosure,
protected from the cold,
and as we huddled together
the sweet smell returned,
the pine tar crusted
and clung to our clothes.



2 Responses to “Gathering Trees”

  1. Lori says:

    sweet and sentimental, I like it!

  2. Sari says:

    I just loved this poem. It read so easily and a delightful visual. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
    If it were a book I would buy it…
    I was happy for the trees!

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