Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Bush

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Bush

I.
The trees are bare,
The grass is brown,
But the little bush is still green.

II.
The bush has been keeping warm
Under its white blanket of snow.
It, too, is wet and boring.

III.
The little bush is lush and alive
As two box turtles root under its lower boughs
Nibbling on its small, oval leaves.

IV.
The trees are green and the dogwood is in bloom,
The grass is lush and tall,
And the bush reveals its delicate pink blooms.

V.
The bush again has a mind
As a fat robin mother alights in it
On her way to the ground for earthworms.

VI.
The little bush is very noisy
Because three tiny robin chicks peep
As their mother approaches, worms dangling from her beak.

VII.
The trees are turning red and orange,
But the bush is still green.
It has grown twice as big.

VIII.
The bush's branches are scraggly.
It has black spots on its leaves
And it is slowly wilting away.

IX.
It has been cut down
Leaving only a few inches of branches.
The bush is now almost bare.

X.
The bush has many little buds.
It is putting forth new growth
And the green is coming back.

XI.
The bush is a rather queer sight:
Its branches are strewn with litter:
Candy wrappers, scraps of paper, tin cans.

XII.
Someone has done a very nice job of pruning the bush.
It is growing into the shape of a big bonsai tree.
It looks very cool!

XIII.
The bush is lying on its side.
Where it once grew there is now a gaping muddy hole
Dug by some snooping dogs.