Cypress Woman by J.A. Roney
a memory of a girl who
fought fists and words—
insidious intrusions upon her
There is a spirit I know
which inhabits a woman
who remains my cypress tree;
evergreen needles protect her
Her decades have allowed her
own cypressene to accumulate
in her woody-bones leaving her
resistant, impervious¾protected
There are whispers in the swamp
her age may leave her vulnerable
for attack of her very heartwood
leaving her useless and hollow
Foolish for those who think
a hollowed tree without purpose¾
life lives in that open womb;
black squirrel and screech owl
There she is! Her roots hold quick
to brackish swamp water as they
form patterns of gray beauty
in her own water-filled mist
She waits for no one, she claims
her own solitary space forgiving
those who didn’t see that
her pine needles never fell
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete