“Ways to Measure Trees”
Level I, Limited Visual Assessment
Mostly I just walk right on by.
Today’s tour is for little details:
Careful looks in quick time.
I don’t have to know a tree
To take it at its face. Yielding
To the detail of where I am,
I get to know the distance. Can I
Keep the gentle fence of myself?
I say and note from afar what I see,
Scan the stresses I can. One form
Asks whether the tree appears
To exhibit a history of failures.
Mostly… I just keep it moving.
“How to draw trees”
first sitting
wait until winter
then, go slowly
soft lines
slow gestures
pull your quiet
pencil to paper’s edge
trees do this too
go slowly sometimes
second sitting
mainly it’s a manner
of carrying the body
do not draw leaves
or buds
do not stop
for lack of material
shade can come
later
winter is for drawing
will i miss spring
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From Shade is a place by MaKshya Tolbert. Copyright © 2025. Available from Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House.
