Death Throes of a Manzanita
That the ending should be like this
rendering asunder of stem and sinew
to cross the woods I must leave you
to desiccate like all things once flush
with sap, but for the moment I kneel
at the silk of your bark, feel, the grain
of your deepening silence breaking
a mirror returning to sand within
Editor’s Note: Each image in this poem functions on multiple levels as the point of view gently shepherds us towards understanding. Grief, longing, and acceptance all compete for our attention within these few short lines, just as in life.
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