variant, you

bark as cloth of copper
oxidised to
unspoken skin
a variant
arising in tissues that tear
thinly in the yew���s memory

remembering
burnt umber

extinction in a canalside moment
decorticated, bold
taxus baccata
balm and toxin

every last stem
tends
toward brokenness

The photograph is of the trunk of an ancient yew tree in the Arentshof public square in Bruges, Belgium, 19 December 2023.