Trimmers and Pruners

Trimmers and Pruners

Bob Komives

::

I finally saw the light.
It came out of the east
across my neighbor's hedge
and through my pole beans.
There really are only two kinds of people in the world.
There are trimmers and there are pruners.

Trimmers trim life into a beautiful form
and then watch in horror
as natural forces make it ugly.
They teach their children how to dress
and don't let them out the door untrimmed.
They prefer Bach to Beethoven.
Their geniuses design moon landers
and make movies with the precision of Alfred Hitchcock.
As they mow their lawn and trim their hedges,
you can hear them chant
I'll show you,
I'll show you,
I showed you.

Pruners introduce a little ugliness as they lop and cut
a little here and little there.
Then they sit back and watch
as natural forces take over to make beauty.
While they may talk of aesthetic theory to their children,
they are proudest when their child decides to self dress.
They then swallow their embarassment
at the mess that walks out the door.
They prefer Beethoven and take unplanned vacations.
Their Robert Altman lets actors and movie grow,
with pruning,
into spontaneous art upon the screen.
If they must mow the lawn, they say,
I'm sorry,
I'm sorry,
but we should never have had you in the first place.

If you are blind to this enlightenment
I'm afraid I can't help you.
There are only two kinds of people in the world,
those who are with me and those who are against me.

Bob Komives :: Fort Collins © 1994 :: Trimmers and Pruners :: ,9415