tangle

Cherry Blossom, 2024  

It started, as it does every year, with the buds at the tips of low branches. I went to clip a few blooms and was soon releasing stems and boughs that had twisted through each other toward the light, letting whole branches drop, spread, and, I briefly think, grow.

It was a fool’s errand. This old tree knows its course. A tangle of blossoms and leaves materializes suddenly, then settles. A riot of pink. A perfect illusion of density and weight. A complexity that is beauty.