These trees, gnarled
and half-dead, grew
old under my stare,
now a testament
to how long I lived,
rather than nurture,
in this single place,
old friends that gave
me shadows and captured
birds from mid-flight,
too deeply rooted
to abandon my memory,
too cowardly to stay
and watch them die.
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Richard Dinges, Jr. has an MA in literary studies from University of Iowa and manages business systems at an insurance company. The Same, Miller’s Pond, Orbis, Licking River Review, and Illya’s Honey most recently accepted his poems for their publications.
Gnarled Trees is a post from: Straylight Literary Magazine
