Better Branching for More Blooms
With spring in full swing, two glittering poems from southeast Tennessee.
ON TRANSPORTING A DAMSELFLY DOWN CHICKAMAUGA CREEK ON A FLOAT
Envy the innocent insect, devoid
of worry and fret, riding the soft breeze,
snatching up mosquitoes under the trees
that overhang rolling water, annoyed
by nothing, and seeing my blue tube buoyed
up on waves, landing, with no thought to please
or be pleased, driven by instinct that frees
this creature to be herself—unemployed,
unfettered, and whole. Together we ride
in the summer sun, beneath bridges wide
and dark, past homes and gardens of man’s
design. I admire her tiny wingspan,
her colors bold. And then at once she’s gone,
to float again on light and air alone.
EASTERN REDBUD
You can buy it online at fast-growing-trees.com,
forprized for its vibrant, purple-pink flowers
for $119.95; plant it in your yard and enjoy
fora breath of fresh air after the cold season.
It will be delivered to you whole,
fora reliable, proven performer, ready to thrive.
As soon as you plant it, you will see
forbigger, better branching for more blooms.
Or you can learn of it slowly, wake every spring
of your life to find pale purple blossoms
revealing themselves gently among bare branches
like an often-heard rumor
whispered in passing.
You can ask your father what it’s called,
be puzzled by the answer, search for meaning
on the hillsides of your youth, studied daily
from school bus seats or the playground
swing.
You can find romance under its low branches,
see it in the background of the photographs
your mother takes to mark the passage of time,
rediscover it years later on other hillsides
distant from home.
Sherry Poff grew up in the hills of West Virginia. She now lives and writes in and around Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she interacts with a large group of students and family members. Sherry holds an MA in Writing from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and is a member of the Chattanooga Writers’ Guild. Her stories and poems have appeared recently inClayjar Review, Anthology of Appalachian Writers, Heart of Flesh, andPine Mountain Sand and Gravel.
