Midlife
For Roots and Branches
December, 51.54 degrees North, 6.45pm, and a bird is singing in the dark.
Somewhere in the three hour deep night another returns the call.
I don't know if it's swallow or chiff chaff or tit
But something in my spine knows it is a warm-weather sound,
And fuddled, I look up into spindle branches and think to call my mother.
It is for the birds, I tell myself, she would like to hear about the birds,
But I know that talk would turn towards the root of my confoundity
And I have no more energy to talk about the children,
To chatter like the anachronistic birds in the branches,
To feel the splayed weight of heavy boughs pulling me apart,
While the suckling roots tether me in place.
I remain, search again for the bird who should not be here,
Cannot see it against the funereal sky, a pall for bare branches.
The leaves are gone, papery gold now segueing into mud,
Into nitrogen and potassium and phosphorus,
Into another inch of wood, creeping towards the heavens,
Suppleness giving way to strength,
Strength giving in to brittle redundancy,
And somewhere, up there, the birds sing songs a season out of time,
While I stand still upon surfacing roots and try not to weigh too much.
About the Creator
Keep reading
More stories from Hannah Moore and writers in Poets and other communities.
Comments (11)
Power to the Win. Blessings to your Poetic Vision. HUGS. Take care. Happy NEW YEARS .. . Hannah.
Your crafting here is flawless Hannah! An easily engrossing read. Congratulations on your placement! 🎉
Gorgeous work, Hannah, and thank you from an avid birder! Congratulations on your win❣
I love how you make the bird sound feel both surprising and meaningful! Congratulations- I love the quiet reflection of this poem :)
Congratulations Hannah! I really liked this one!
Congratulations on your win, Hannah!!
Wooohooooo congratulations on your win! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
I feel the stasis in your verses even as the unseen birds above sing of hope out season as if biding time till spring returns. Hearing them you cannot follow, not yet, forced to bide your own in an unforgiving season of life. Simply heartbreaking, Hannah. Congratulations on placing. Your entries are always a cut above the rest.
The ending. There is so much in this, I am trying to understanding it all. Would love to know more about this. It feels like a temptation to hope, a longing for connection, but then reminding yourself of burden of that connection and its cost. This could be way off, but would genuinely love to know more.
This felt so authentically you. I loved the scientific bits and felt the good and the bad. Loved it Hannah
This was so deep and beautifully written. Loved your poem!