1 <br /> <br />What is sometimes called a <br /> tongue of flame <br />or an arm extended burning <br /> is only the long <br />red and orange branch of <br /> a green maple <br />in early September reaching <br /> into the greenest field <br />out of the green woods at the <br /> edge of which the birch trees <br />appear a little tattered tired <br /> of sustaining delicacy <br />all through the hot summer re- <br /> minding everyone (in <br />our family) of a Russian <br /> song a story <br />by Chekhov or my father <br /> <br /> <br />2 <br /> <br />What is sometimes called a <br /> tongue of flame <br />or an arm extended burning <br /> is only the long <br />red and orange branch of <br /> a green maple <br />in early September reaching <br /> into the greenest field <br />out of the green woods at the <br /> edge of which the birch trees <br />appear a little tattered tired <br /> of sustaining delicacy <br />all through the hot summer re- <br /> minding everyone (in <br />our family) of a Russian <br /> song a story by <br />Chekhov or my father on <br /> his own lawn standing <br />beside his own wood in <br /> the United States of <br />America saying (in Russian) <br /> this birch is a lovely <br />tree but among the others <br /> somehow superficial <br /> <br /> <br />from Long Walks and Intimate Talks by Grace Paley and Vera B. Williams. © 1991<br /><br />Grace Paley<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/autumn-191/
