out of the woods?

the winter sunlight is brief but lilac bright
glamorizing woodland, bold burnished bark
and polished floors of desiccant decay
brittle as bones and drip-dried handkerchiefs
after our mourning has sapped every memory
of that visceral vitality

it's so much clearer in the clearings
all the canopy has finally pulled back
retreating before the year has time to pass
and torn from lichened masts, some of the last tatters
scatter and fall far from their beginnings

yew berries, fast fading fungi and a few untidy nests
ruminations mulled like wine for meanings
perhaps they are presentiments or something like salvation
at this fir tree festival of birth and offerings.

Uniting with other poets for this week’s Poetry Pantry

20 thoughts on “out of the woods?

  1. Such a wonderfully deep and wistful poem, Laura! đź’śThe phrase “ruminations mulled like wine for meanings,” gives me the feeling of one reminiscing and reanalyzing past events. 🙂

  2. I love, especially, “brittle as bones and drip-dried handkerchiefs / after our mourning has sapped every memory”. Wow. I can feel the brittle branches of winter, and hear the mourning heart.

  3. This is beautiful, an entire novel in a few lines. Love the “lilac bright” winter light.

    1. what a lovely comment – many thanks. I’d made the photoart a while back and found it fitted here – not least because the colour lilac is traditionally half mourning

  4. This piece was so beautiful to read out loud especially with phrases like “bold burnished bark” and “fast fading fungi”. Utterly delightful!

  5. “ruminations mulled like wine”—what an exquisite image!

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