Larix

M.A.H. Hinton

my dear
feeble-tongued academic

your beloved Latin
seldom does the job

but in this one case
at least
the Latin name is the best

Cicero will not come down
that smoldering mountain again

the plains will remain empty

the great buffalo herds
will not return

but if you hike high enough
and know the places
where they grow
just below the tree-line
soft-bristled larches stand
mendicant-like
petitioning the climbing sky