Hope

by Candice M. Kelsey

is a lick of chokecherry

as the cold grub hoe

bristles with

Image credit: Tom Dick on Unsplash

clematis    prolific

claiming the old woods

as harbinger of

the coming din

that releases    space

or swings into

the verdant grief    stained

leather boot songs

of light    the widow notices

white then red

toward warmth    sighs

celebrates

my hands are feathers

***

Candice M. Kelsey

Candice M. Kelsey (she/her) is a bi-coastal writer and educator. Her work has received Pushcart and Best-of-the-Net nominations, and she is the author of eight books. Her work appears in Bust, The Rumpus, Painted Bride Quarterly, Poet Lore, SWWIM, and other journals. A reader for The Los Angeles Review and The Weight Journal, she recently served as an AWP Poetry Mentor.