Surveyor’s Tape in Late Fall

Pink ribbon snags the alder,
a small wound fluttering.

Someone measured this place
and left.

Rain edits the numbers.
Wind loosens the knot.

By morning, the tree has learned
how to wear the mark
without believing it.

---

David Anson Lee is a physician, philosopher, and poet who lives and writes in Texas. His work explores the intersections of place, memory, and human experience, often attentive to landscapes shaped by both nature and culture. His poems have appeared in Right Hand Pointing, The Scarred Tree, Eunoia Review, and other journals.