The Politics of Trees

By Patricia Staley

I’m getting sick of stump speeches and I have a deep-rooted distrust of politicians, in general.

How many leaflets can you bear to pull out of your mailbox?

Every branch of government is at stake and it makes you feel like a sap if you don’t vote.

The grass roots movements have lost momentum. It seems like everything is supported by hedge funds and other big financial off-shoots.

The fruits of our labors are often eaten up by taxes and I bristle at another increase in petrol.

Sometimes I don’t give a twig, but on the other palm, inactivity could mean the nuts are running the asylum.

So I tell myself to stop weeping like a willow and bark up the right tree.

Well, yew know what I mean.

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Patricia Staley grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Rowan University. She moved to San Diego in 1990, for just a year, but fell under the enchanting spell of California and stayed on. She has been in love with words from an early age. She has participated in several writing groups, and has written prose and poetry for various blogs and non-profit publications.

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This first appeared at our associated San Diego Free Press.