In winter like this
how bare-boned—
stripped of cover
white arms of alder
protrude, glare
and glower. I squint
my eyes, hollows
open branches
black and wet
hissing in sparse
evening light, noisy
shapes reverse
Gestalt principles
of figure-ground
an after-image, halos
shadowing the sun
glass magic lanterns
—old silhouettes.
© Jeanine Stevens. Jeanine will read as part of the Cache Creek Nature Preserve
Writers on Monday, July 16 at the SPC, 25th and R.