Walk across winterbit fields down to the teeming swamp
every step drops, deeper and deeper into waiting marshes
fens, and bogs. Smell pools of sepia water, hear high calls
of tree frogs over bullfrog basso. Swamplove guides my feet.
Walking, on a quiet path of one, whispering, weaving
my story through morning greengrows, a first touch of Spring.
Give me eyes, give me feet. Give me the empty places, so full for me.
I claim no insignias, no amulets, no name. Give me the roiling clouds
bristlebrown thistles, rustling cattails, beating wings rising.
Dig the willing earth and plant Loblolly pines roots sinking
into the wet soil, one day, branches heavy with cones.
Let the lifepipes sing clear across the longlost lands.
—
An author and artist, Deborah Kennedy’s work focuses on the challenging relationship between ourselves and the larger natural world. Her book, Nature Speaks: Art and Poetry for the Earth was recognized with the Silver Nautilus and the 2017 Eric Hoffer Poetry Book awards. Deborah’s poetry has been featured in The Midwest Quarterly, Caesura, great weather for MEDIA, and Leaping Clear, among others. Currently, she is a Creative Ambassador for the City of San Jose.
