favorite tree

for the first time since i left, i miss being in manhattan. i miss the flint hills in the fall. i long to run up manhattan hill to look down on the city clothed in its fall wardrobe. i miss my favorite tree in manhattan. i don't call very many things favorites; i use that title cautiously. however, i do not think twice in stating that i have a favorite tree, or perhaps had one. it was the kind of tree that caused me to change my walking path through campus in the fall just so i might walk by it in the warm morning light and again as the air turned brisk on my way home. this tree had the ability to call me from my studio desk, asking me to take a few moments to sit in front of it in the stillness. its color change always began at the upper left side and slowly bled its way across, creating soft, diagonal bands of color around it's form. even more than beholding it in its entirety from the front, i liked sitting at its trunk and gazing up. i'd peer between its branches, watching the sunlight filter through, bouncing all around. green turned yellow, evolving into orange, climaxing at red...it truly was a sight to behold. i miss my tree.



no longer do i have the pleasure of daily campus walks. now i pass a smelly dumpster, an empty bar, and a pizza shop on my journey from the parking lot to the office. the cities adolescent trees are held captive in wrought iron leaving little room to breath. i am beginning to miss out on the morning's glow as i leave my house only to return at its setting. but that doesn't keep me from searching for a new favorite. every tree i pass, whether or not it realizes it, is a contender for the title. the colors are just now beginning to turn, the competition will be stiff. but i am confident a new champion will be found. it is still early.