arboretum may

at the linden tree
on the gravel side path
pretending to otherness
marked by rectangle sign
and reflective white arrow
directing past the outdoor water fountain
on a clear line from the visitor center

at the linden tree
textured as beach sand
in rivulets after the rain and
swollen in the midsection
as a long pregnancy
short limbed and inward turned

at the linden tree
with medicinal leaves
we may have talked together
but we did not
on different and uneven paths with
our knees too stiff to bend

at the linden tree
we may have talked and
I may have gestured
with medicinal fingers
and short limbed

at the linden tree
we may have talked and
I may have told you that
we can’t dance our limbs to that position
only grow