Losing Petals Quickly
No great oak when shedding leaves, I’m losing petals quickly.
Not mites, not snails, nor even fungi; spots have grown where
Xylem stream, where tracheids work, where life’s excitement
Surges.
When subcutaneous tissue’s harvested, furrows are left behind,
Exposing blood, fat, nerves, deep follicles. Cutting away pieces
Of any integumentary system causes unnatural divots, likewise
Scars.
Hair, skin, feathers, nails ought to deflect harm, ward off evil,
Elsewise armor against injurious cells. Yet hooves can falter
Confronting malignancies. Prayers, good intentions, families
Save.
KJ Hannah Greenberg uses her trusty point-and-shoot camera to capture the order of G-d's universe, and Paint 3D to capture her personal chaos. Sometimes, it’s insufficient for her to sate herself by applying verbal whimsy to pastures where gelatinous wildebeests roam or fey hedgehogs play. Hannah’s poetry and art collections are: Miscellaneous Parlor Tricks (Seashell Books, 2024, Forthcoming), Word Magpie (Audience Askew, 2024), Subrogation (Seashell Books, 2023), and One-Handed Pianist (Hekate Publishing, 2021).
