07-02-2017, 02:22 PM
Sunlight crashes uninvited
through flax and ferns
surrounding the old tree,
his protective presence
now a vacancy. Birds circle,
gauging this new space.
Their calls round out the groan
as he fell. Outstretched branches
tremble, reaching up; some smashed
under his cold lichen-encrusted trunk,
with nests, and fairytales of safety.
If you hadn't seen the kahikatea
you wouldn’t experience this shock of absence
like a tooth missing from a lover's smile.
The horizon calls the sun closer, to consume me.
through flax and ferns
surrounding the old tree,
his protective presence
now a vacancy. Birds circle,
gauging this new space.
Their calls round out the groan
as he fell. Outstretched branches
tremble, reaching up; some smashed
under his cold lichen-encrusted trunk,
with nests, and fairytales of safety.
If you hadn't seen the kahikatea
you wouldn’t experience this shock of absence
like a tooth missing from a lover's smile.
The horizon calls the sun closer, to consume me.