Seed Among Thorns

Seed Among Thorns

Jill Baumgaertner

 
the lines are fork tines,
thorns where a poem
balances
untethered
no roots no anchor

it could be wafted
like a thin plastic bag
floating a breeze
it will never erupt
through loam
it will never send forth
shoots rhymes
stanzas filled
with more seeds
to scatter

it will defy fertility
it will never push
through green tubes
even pinprick blossoms
much less
glories of flora

it sits and waits
and all is silence
and night no joy
no voices.

---

Jill Baumgaertner
Poet & Editor

Jill Peláez Baumgaertner is poetry editor at The Christian Century, and is the author of several books, including What Cannot Be Fixed (2014, Poiema/Cascade) and From Shade To Shine (2022, Paraclete).

Photography by Vlad Deep