In my backyard, trees tower above me.
I run my hands over their surfaces:
oak cast in flaky shells, ash in diamond ridges.
After yesterday’s rain storm —
a musky scent, hoof marks
in the ground.
Soon, mayapple will open
their olive umbrellas — tubers eagerly
swallow up the forest floor.
Jack-in-the-pulpit and sensitive fern
will re-emerge in their familiar patch
of cool, damp earth.
The morning sun highlights
the chestnut-brown ridge line —
hilly rumps of horses.
Lynn Fanok’s poem was previously published in Bread and Fumes (Kelsay Books, 2021), a poetry collection honoring her Ukrainian family heritage and culture. She has resided in Bucks County for more than 30 years, and leads a monthly poetry series at the Newtown Bookshop.
Poet’s Corner is curated by Bucks County Poet Laureate Emeritus Tom Mallouk and supported by a grant to the Bucks County Herald Foundation made possible by Marv and Dee Ann Woodall.
To submit a poem for consideration, email it to Heraldpoetscorner@gmail.com. If the poem has been previously published, please say where it first appeared.
Note from the curator: Mark your calendars for Tuesday April 30 to attend an open mic event at the Doylestown public library on the theme of Poetry and Repair. Information: friendsofdtownlibrary.org/upcoming-programs.
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