the wild cherry tree
that stands
sentinel
below my kitchen window, had
until today,
lost all her leaves,
but two.
and all morning long
i kept watch
over her labour
as i rinsed the remains of
give-us-our-daily-bread
from plates, and
somewhere
between brewing tea
and folding laundry,
she let go of the last signs
of life,
and i stood with my head
bowed
in that solemn moment, but
she swayed in the wind
and said,
‘there’s no need for sadness,
i have been expecting this loss
and
it is good.’
as two leaves became
one
with all the others, and
gold
lay like love,
all over the
very ordinary
lawn.
— (there is) life after death.
© Liezel Graham 2018.
