Giuseppe Penone’s
Alberto Folgorato
(Lightning struck tree)
Could be the very metaphor
Amplified by the dark clouds of Yorkshire
Highlighted by the sky's silver linings
The split trunk
Says much about divergence
The gold-leaf offshoot
Itself splits in two
Their fine points
Reaching ever upward
Yet it is the dark bark
A combination of browns, silver-greys
With slivers of gold
Which looks strongest, which reaches highest
What we leave behind
May grow ever brighter
But in no way, no way whatsoever
Did it stunt our growth