AND THE WHOLE TREE GLISTENS

For Gregg


all day the winter sky lay open
our voices after long conversation silent
as familiar as our fruit trees’ spreading canopy

dusk unravels swirls of light on mottled bark
roots slump deeper into earth’s dark belly—
a still intricate union

the fire in the hearth has died down
an occasional coal will flare up then die—a quickened cinder
delighting for a moment in its slender flame

luminous snow mounds drift over Artemisia,
boulders and stalks of sedum “Autumn Joy”
hollow ridges glide one whiteness

the plum trees—snow hung—
spread feathered branches in the sky—imaginary wings
any bird might choose, slowly lifting up into blue half-light

winter—the deep settles in
slowly we grow older, relinquish one burden then another
small deaths we never fully understand

your breathing falls into mine (between us nothing is withheld)
you touch my cheek—boundaries soften—blur
the earth leans close

silently snow falls—
and the whole tree glistens


Published in: Quiddity International literary Journal, 2010, Volume 3, Number 1