D is for dragon and damsel, diamond and diadem. For deciduous woods, their dropping leaves.
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Planting Petals
My sister puts petals back into the earth.
Winter Father Persimmon Sleep
as a child I couldn’t sleep
my parents tried ignoring me holding me
stroking fingers down my back
but still I cried into the winter nights
The Robe
Our father is a woodcutter driven to drink, and when he drinks he likes to talk.
Monster, a Meaning
Monstrum: a sign, a portent,
From the Latin, monere: to warm, from
the root men to think.
Garden
Now that night she said we had to go dancing, but first we had to put on dresses.
‘Bigfoot Thumbs a Ride’ & ‘Animal Bride’
Once, there was nowhere to go. Nowhere
to get to. My movement through the slash
pines and saw palms was pure physical
expression.
Coven
We chant around the grill in our backyard every Friday the 13th to scare the neighbors who told the Homeowners’ Association our violet paint job was garish.
Magenta
Once lived a woman wrapped in a magenta skin so brilliant she glowed, but the story doesn’t start like that.
The Seed and The Stone
The Arbor tells us stories of a time before, when all the dead were kept in orchards that rolled endlessly, and had always been there, and people tended to them constantly in gratitude and respect for their ancestors.