any acorn can
A poem by Alan Gann

any acorn can

fall
easiest thing in the world
letting go can be hard but once you do
gravity does all the work
so any acorn can
take root
gather water and sunlight
and grow ring by ring until it
casts shade where
two young people kiss the kiss
that puts all other kisses
to shame
any acorn can
be eaten by deer or squirrel
digested
doing its part
another blessed and anonymous
thread in the universal web
and any acorn can
be kicked to the curb
by a student on their way
first day at a new school
all sharpened pencils and empty notebooks
no red-marked pages no unexcused absences
and perhaps a teacher who believes
who inspires who knows
any acorn can
get snatched up in the claws
of an unfettered jay and carried
beyond river fence and ravine
dropped into a fertile field
one day to yield delicious fruit
from an impossible impossible tree

About the Author:

Alan Gann, a teaching artist-poet who facilitates writing workshops for at-risk youth. His newest collection of poems, Better Ways to See from Assure Press, celebrates his parents with nature and ekphrastic poems. Other publications include 2 volumes of poetry: That’s Entertainment (Lamar University Press), and Adventures of the Clumsy Juggler (Inkbrush Press), plus DaVerse Works, a performance poetry curriculum.

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