Arbor Joe

I wonder what that plant is
I voice my question out loud
Thinking I'm alone
No need to be proud

"Who do I look like, Arbor Joe?"
Comes an answer
Unbidden or asked for
I turn to see the man in question

Sure enough
It's Arbor Joe

From the tip of his botanical themed hat
To the bottoms of his moss stained boots
It was Arbor Joe all right
Predictably, in his hand was a tangle of roots

"I've been here for weeks
Unnoticed here in this forest
I came to get away from questions like yours
Those of a damned tourist!"

He was disgruntled
That much was certain
I suppose I could try to cheer him
Make him more gruntled here in this glen

I tried out some handstands
Then juggling to and fro
Lastly some jokes
Nothing was working though

His frown still dirty
His mood still surly
But I kept think that surely
Something could be done

So I shook his earthy hand
And pledged to apprentice
To learn the ways of the land
And quit being such a damned tourist

And that's when I saw it
Just the hint of a grin
Tugging the corners of his mouth
No help from without; all from within

That was ten years ago
Now I know every tree and river bend
Here in this forest long tall and green
And Arbor Joe I call a friend.