Oak Tree Cut Down

I just saw the oak tree
Cut to the ground
Chewed into a truck
Shrubs cut back to lollipops
Green lawn back
Repainted
Bricks laid to hold the mulch
Thirteen-thirteen-thirteen tiny balls
Spread in a spreader

No sprigs
No branches hanging down
Squirrels all gone
A For Sale sign out front
Us gone

But what about the dog?
And that dumb cat?
All that hair
I have the dog
So I have to deal with things
It's real
I gotta trim the tree
I guess

I don't like it
I wish I lived on a river sometimes
In Martindale

I miss my old friends
I miss laughing with them
And camping with them
Playing dominoes

I see my grandpa under his oak tree
They had four by fours to hold the branches
The four by fours were on the roof of the house too
They held the branches over the house
He had this squeaky chair
Iron slats with springs
Smoking his pipe
Sitting there all the time

I like my oak tree
It's the reason I bought the house
That and the park
And the cheap price
And the location
And the cheap price

My grandpa got mad once with Rocky
Rocky owned a store called "Rocky's"
My grandpa never went back to Rocky's - ever
I missed going to Rocky's

I want to cut my oak tree down today
I want to cut the shrubs into lollipops
And then throw the For Sale sign up

But I have that dog
Maybe I could just trim the tree
It's making the neighbor's grass die
It's crowding their tree
Wish it had room to grow
But it doesn't

I thought it was a good thing
It's not
It's overgrown

Maybe I've outgrown this place
I really want to cut the oak tree down
And leave lollipops
But that's because I'm mad and being silly

I want to leave this place forever
And leave it like a postage stamp
With a perfect For Sale sign out front
Never to come back

Find a couple acres
With a lot of oak trees