Pretty Face, Triteleia ixioides – April 11, 2014
Steep east slope damp,
tall green grass slick,
pale Pretty Faces hold their grins
beneath Buckeyes and Live Oaks—
heavy thatch of fallen limbs
holds the old fence down,
shelters a rat’s nest.
Nature has been winning
since I was here last
with the chain saw,
packing posts afoot
and splicing rusty wire
to keep cattle straight—
pretending to be in charge.
I see my mark: old cuts
with decomposing rings.
Not near as near
as in my mind—
four years since the low snows,
ten more for this six-inch growth.
Steep east slope damp,
tall green grass slick,
pale Pretty Faces hold their grins
beneath Buckeyes and Live Oaks.
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