
Methow Valley
Whisper up the valley
Nudge the branch where the sparrow
Claims a perch
Calm the fretful horse
Tethered to the fence
Soften the sharp scent of flame on wood
Bring twilight on feathered clouds
Drop violet gold over folded hills
Offer dreams to the sleepless
Grant them the river’s joy
Sliding sweetly over rocks
Smoothed by her toil
Long ago
Peony
The peony spreads underground
Those words suggest a movement
Either to build or destory
Both, really
Can’t do one without the other
Unless by building one is
Adding to, not replacing
The image is not political
What is political in nature?
Survival & conquering & besting
Sounds political, if you filter it
Through the lense of human history
Which i’d rather not
Each spring brings more shoots & each
Gives a blossom
The heat dome didn’t ruin it
Nor the foot of snow
A resilient gorgeous plant
Plotting to take over the garden

San Diego County
Slender twisted trunks & flat, fluttery leaves
The eucalypts bend toward the light, as if
The sinking sun would pull them into the sea
Rain so scant the fall of a moment
Brings a glisten & shine to the yucca & jade
Fire passed here
Blackened
Singed
Spared stone mansions
On the ridgetops
Full of light, for now
Each season could be the one to
Hollow out & tear down
Leaving behind shadows & soot
Remarkable, too
In their way
ABOUT:

Anne Leigh Parrish’s next poetry collection, If The Sky Won’t Have Me, will be published in April 2023 by Unsolicited Press. Her next novel, A Summer Morning, arrives in October 2023, also from Unsolicited Press She lives in Olympia, Washington. Visit www.anneleighparrish.com and her new photography website (3 nature photos from Lavinia Studios appeared in the clip above ) www.laviniastudios.com Follow for more updates @AnneLParrish on Twitter and @anneleighparrish on Instagram.
EDITOR'S SONG PAIRING
Aaron Krause - Jade (Mason Self Remix)
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