First Letter to Darkness
Carol Berg
Dear Darkness: I like being thin, but not this thin--
scant green left
on yellowing oak leaf.
Twirl me in your long fingers. The wisp
of wild grape scent & one over
ripe fruit drops—my desire you
gulp.
Step
into that light
between day and dusk. Small gray birds
I hold behind my eyes have nowhere to fly to
but their flutterings are what I clench in my fists.
And my mouth, well,
we know
what the pine needles taste of, what the sumac
berries hold in their red. The path into the woods
is my heart lurching. Greening
of your eyes. Greedy forest.
Dear Darkness,
the milkweed pods are exploding everywhere.
Their silky hands
clutching at my throat.