no need to cut it down, he said.
we'll build round it;
it's taken years to grow.
the old lilac shifted,
stiff in its branches, leafless
in early spring.
no need to cut the apple,
either, he said.
(this short, opaquely solid,
kindly man).
the boughs, thick as drainpipes, rested
athwart the broken stones.
we'll build round them: dip the wall
where they lean,
and let the new stones
cradle them.
