Deciduous

Deciduous

A surreptitious wind

slips from perdition’s bridge,
dirt and twigs paved over

through
silk flowers, honey bees,
velvet petals, tattered wings

scattering
the peppered leaves
of modernity’s arrival.

A low whistle

stirs the limbs of sentinels
bristled with ashen ironies,

roots unbound
by bone
and bloodmeal

poised to hide
the coppiced scars
enshrouding their survival.

A steady rain

sings departure, deposits
seeds into the dust

diffuses music
through the settled hush,
smoothing

indelible footprints,
laying vestiges

to rust.