The Tree That Sees Them Off

Under a tree
a person
was sitting.

A boat
was just leaving.

The person
did not get up.

Did not
raise a hand.

The tree
was leaning
toward the sea.

From the thick trunk
one branch
reached out long.

Toward where the boat was going.

When the wind came,
the twigs at its end

trembled first,
like fingers.

I
watched that branch
longer than the person.

The boat
drew a little farther off.

The person
was still sitting.

The tip of the branch
had gone farther
than the person could go.

It looked
as if it meant to hold on,

then, looking again,
as if it were letting go.

The wind
paused a moment.

The twigs too
fell quiet.

The boat
kept going.

The person
did not get up.

The tree
did not follow.

Only
one branch
stayed long stretched
toward the sea.

Toward the leaving.