Inosculation

Not only do trees talk 
to each other, we learn; 
they also touch. When they're 
in such proximity, it's sometimes 
possible the bark on the surface 
of their limbs gradually abrades 
so as they grow, their branches, 
trunks, or roots graft to one 
another. The new configurations 
can look a bit grotesque—like twins  
in a carnival, conjoined at the hip 
or belly or nape. Most commonly, 
they're called Marriage Trees 
or Husband and Wife Trees: cedar 
and linden, blackthorn and pine, 
one branch twined around the other 
as if to form possessive half-
embrace. Psychologists say
it's human nature to look
for what's familiar, to place
your trust in someone whose face
seems to resemble your own. 
After more than two decades, 
I wonder if my eyebrows 
have grown fuller rather than
thinner, if they make a dark
double arch that meets 
in the center of my brow, 
like in Frida Kahlo's self-
portraits. I wonder if 
the mole that's always lived
below the corner of my left 
eye has migrated to yours,
or if the width of each
cheek is even as the paper
shape a child cuts out 
with scissors, after first
folding it in half.