Sequoia

Sequoia

Griffin Messer

I sit under the incense of a summer storm
amidst a mix of thunder and detonations from the quarry across the lake
and wind blowing northeast through the cottonwoods
Cobwebs keep reinstituting
One of the sequoia saplings is brown
The other was thrown away two weeks ago
I try to find meaning in it all
Peace finds me in the meantime
I stopped writing for a few minutes
I was busy saturating myself into the surroundings
and for a moment i was boundless
and beloved

I watch from the shade in the July heat
while the rain haze dissipates and joggers and
dogs and ducks come back to order
The sequoia saplings are dead and thrown
away and I avoid the implied metaphor
I stopped writing for a few months
I was busy satiating myself with the surroundings
bound in marrowless novelty
and boredom

---

Griffin Messer
Poet

Griffin was born and raised in small-town, Ohio. Today, he spends his free time exploring local state parks, hosting friends, and cooking for his wonderful wife. His work can be found in Stoneboat Journal, Havik Journal, and others."

Photography by Annie Spratt