Roses at the Grave of Summer
Acknowledged or not, the Afghan conflict became part of the background of daily life. Although mostly unspoken, the omnipresence of war mirrors how in the Selkirk Mountains of southeastern BC where I live, the turn of the seasons and the work that changes with seasons is all-pervasive…”
The mountain stream, year after year,
washes soil downslope to the valley floor
leaving behind a creek bed of
stones.
At Lebahdo Flats
cows graze in the morning fog
as the school bus passes.
By dusk, the air
is heavy with the coming winter.
Damp earth clings to the shovel blade
and pitchfork. The tools
clang together before being placed
to lean again against the inside of the shed.
Where the house wall
faces east across the valley
Joseph’s Coat roses – barrenn since August –
blossom a last time.
~ Tom Wayman
Bio: Dirty Snow is Tom Wayman’s eighteenth collection of poems. He has edited a number of anthologies, including The Dominion of Love (2001). His published fiction includes two books of short stories and the novel Woodstock Rising (2009).
To read more of poet’s work here
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