dedicated trees: a dream

somebody's father
solid as an oak
a retired veterinarian
drives me down
to waco to see
a grove of trees,
the confederate oaks.
one is called
the trinity oak.
a herd of reindeer
wander among them.
some are long and langorous,
lying around
like fallen trees.
we drive wildly
among the giants.
back in town
we talk about ginkos.
he says you cannot
talk about them
in any terms
but the feminine.
i tell him about
a stand of redwood
in san fancisco,
in golden gate park.

why "waco", i asked myself... a small city south of here in central texas. there are several associations. the browning library at baylor university in waco has a stained glass window of "the pied piper of hamlin". the compound of david koresh and his cult, the branch davidians, was outside waco, as is the crawford home of the current u.s. president. w.a.c.o. was the acronym for the western addition community organization which opposed the redevelopment of the western addition in san francisco in the late 60's and early 70's. the western addition was the home of jim jones' "people's temple" which led to the tragedy in guyana. i'm not sure that explains anything. it's certainly all "wacky" enough.