Blue Gums Stay Evergreen

The red and gold show
When the green retracts.
It’s an illusion,

In a sense—the red
And gold were always
There, carotenoids,

And the green doesn’t
Go—the valuable
Chlorophyll gets stored.

Neither is a blood
Red leaf a lintel,
John. There are more ways

To illude than words
Can ever capture,
But that’s a mistake

About words, the way
Saying that the green
Itself changes shade

Is inaccurate.
There’s no capturing.
Words draw back their teeth,

Valuable teeth,
To reveal what was
Already glowing.