Smoke Among the Willows

by Ariana Moulton


for Amy


How do you thank the woman
who speaks through the trees?
Bending as roots do,
below the dirt, the surface,
her hands in deep.

How would you wake her,
find her like smoke among
the willows? Dancing delicate 
threads between oak and elm.

Trees don’t ask for honey,
amber offerings, lengthening drips.
Blonde wisps of worry to break open
ancient wounds, the deeply scratched.

How could you know she’d lead you
through yesterdays?
Through the inside out.
To a place of connection,
the untangled. 

When leaves speak for her
she can let go, lay her body down.
Exhale those who came before.

---

Ariana Moulton is a third grade teacher and writer living in Chicago with her two daughters and husband. She grew up in Cornwall, Vermont, attended Bates College and has her master’s from Columbia College. She is inspired by nature, politics, Chicago, and the people and landscapes of Vermont. Her writing appears in Verity LA, Poet’s Choice, Lucky Jefferson, Poem Village, and What Rough Beast Covid 19 Edition. Tracing the Curve is her first collection, Atmosphere Press.