Measuring Tree
Every morning they walk
By the measuring tree
On their way to school.
Today the girl says:
Daddy! Watch!”
She stands on tiptoes
And lifts her right arm
To touch the limb of the apple tree,
And this time she does.
The father knocks on the tree
And says: “Knock on wood!
You’ve grown taller.”
The girl laughs.
They don’t know that
The apples grew heavier
And the limb has drooped
Under their weight.
Majid Naficy
October 27, 2017