THE CURVATURE OF STRAIGHT LINES
by David Lowe


[  David Lowe is a senior at Rice University in Houston, where he is
majoring in english and history.  He drinks too much mellow yellow, and
claims not to have done anything important since he won a speech contest
in the fifth grade.  His hobbies include jogging, soccer, and burning rural
bridges (or so he says).  ]


(c)1990 David Lowe


A tree fell in my front yard - no
One was home, but you could
Hear him creak as he
Followed the wind.

But no sound, so scientists say, was made.
To them it quietly fell and now silently
Lies on split bushes, leaving only
Scattered leaves and branches
To notice, and to adapt to
The changes that continually occur
Inside a yard, or a field, or a house.

Sometimes the wind an I gossip, so
I heard about what happened.  That
night, I had come home and noted
May-apples blooming nearby.
This time, someone was there.

---
