Great Regulars: [Michael] Castro stands an old fear

on its head, that to prune means to lose. He is saying no, it's a concentration, a revitalization, a "focus of energy" so that we can spring back stronger than ever.

In the second couplet, Castro doesn't warn us of dire consequences but encourages us to go ahead and cut, perhaps even the limb we may be standing on. In the falling, in the brushing ourselves off and standing up, who knows what we will discover--perhaps nothing less than who we really are. Then again, we might discover that we can fly.

Poet in a Tree

for Gabor G. Gyukics

from Walter Bargen: The Post-Dispatch: Missouri Poets: Michael Castro

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