gnats follow the branching cracks in its skin
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.
first rain in weeks
the dry canyons in my moss garden disappear
night-blooming cereus
two spiders feed on a white moth
twinleaf
two missing petals but still an immaculate shadow
hepatica in bloom
I jangle the loose change in my pocket
first coltsfoot flowers
take aim at the overcast sky
icicles lengthen
the snow shares a shadow with the wall
bent stalk of brome
three corkscrew leaves stuck in the snow
weighted by ice
the laurel leaves turn pale-side up
snow-covered gabions
suddenly I want to descend those giant steps
in the snowy track
a grass blade curved into the Arabic for “eye”
January moon
we startle at each other’s faces
