Ripping Up Paper

ripping up paper
perched over a bag of trash
tearing the flesh of trees
 feeling the shame of this thing

bark
 torn to pieces
with fingers that feel the pain
of a fresh fell

innocent sheets
 that prophesized the miracles of men
and
gods made flesh

ripping up paper
to scatter tiny bits of data
bearing encoded marks
that represent life
tattooed upon trees pulpy skin

a velvety waste
 slipping between hands
 that would rather trace you
 hug you
breathe you in

paper bearing the weight of words
paper no longer a necessity of life
yet
 a divine anticipation

a clean sheet
 a fresh canvass
ready for the scratching of a pen
or the pounding of keys
a lost art
a lost connection

a blank slate
 an origami crane
 a plane
soaring through a rowdy classroom

oh
to waste you
mighty tree
is a shame

 ― Tracey Rich