Synthesis

[ellajam]

Hi, 71, a few thoughts:

No one sleeps
they are, at least,
restless: eyes closed,
the open arms
of an elm tree,
a mime show
of shadows
spreading across
rose colored
kitchen walls
I so like from "eyes closed" on down, I enjoyed picturing the non-sleeper as a tree and watching the show flicker.  I wonder if you could cut the confusion of the opening and maybe start Sleepless: eyes closed.

Who dreams
about love
with an old year
sputtering,
a new year
tip-toeing in?

Any memory is
a cedar closet: Big fan of the cedar closet. Have you thought through any vs each vs every?
notebooks
of unwritten
poems,
a tin of icebox
cookies baked
back in Wisconsin;
the dead limbs
of the winter birch
in the side yard
the dead limbs I think you could cut this line with a comma after yard or a change on the next line to "and" instead of "of".
of father as he lay
dying: femur, blood,
urine; nothing
working, not even
his dark sleep
I love the whimsy of unwritten poems and baked icebox cookies. You may want to consider adding a bit of that to the birch, leaving dad the dark blow.

I dreamed
about the strength
of this man’s trunk;
his language,
his energy,
the way his color
changed
year-to-year

As he lay dying, He lies dying above, this line doesn't seem to suit this poem here, I think you could lose it.
I wonder if
he ever dreamed
at all?

I never asked.

I hope a bit of this makes sense to you. I remember the birch in the side yard and the end lines. The pieces aren't quite fitting together here for me, although there's so much I like.
For me the short lines didn't help, I could see other stronger breaks and I wished you had made those decisions for me. I think a gentle edit could make a big difference. Good luck with it.