an inchworm’s pure green
on my hat brim
Author: Dave Bonta
I live in an Appalachian hollow in the Juniata watershed of central Pennsylvania, and spend a great deal of time walking in the woods. My books of poetry include FAILED STATE: HAIBUN, ICE MOUNTAIN: AN ELEGY, BREAKDOWN: BANJO POEMS, and ODES TO TOOLS.
coffin-shaped spring
the plucked banjo string
of a tanager
rain still falling from the trees
wood thrush song
the millipede’s carnival colors
I forget where I am
half-way up the mountain
a whiff
of the river
up slope
on all fours
the growl in my chest
mayfly dance
the cloying scent
of azaleas
lady slipper
every way a bee
can bumble
wood ears
another language
I’ve lost
sun after rain
the dust on
my glasses
watching
the live stream
lonesome hollow
steady rain
not wishing to be
anywhere else
