Steam And Laughter By The Somewhere Tree

I have seen trees get struck by lightning then
work crews cut down what is left of the tree.

I would like to see a quick-thinking tree
reach out, grab a lightning bolt, pull it down,
throw it down, let it fizzle in the grass.

I have seen trees get struck by lightning but
I’ve never seen that lightning hurt a bird.

Even the trees that don’t want to fight back
must give a heads-up to their friends the birds
so the birds can hide when a storm blows in.

Somewhere I bet there is a tree where birds
and maybe squirrels too have worked with their friend
and the squirrels have chewed through a power line
and the stronger birds have lifted one end
of the squirrels’ long piece of thick copper wire
to the very highest branch of the tree
and tied it there with the wire sticking up
and the squirrels buried the wire’s other end
away from the roots of their friend the tree.

Somewhere I bet there is a tree where birds
and squirrels and the tree sit around laughing
when a storm blows in and when lightning strikes
it strikes the high wire and grounds to the earth
and the squirrels and birds and tree shake their heads
and one bird says what they are all thinking —
“Remember when that would make us so scared?”

Steam rising from where the lightning fizzled
into the ground, the squirrels, birds and the tree
would tell each other fun stories and laugh.