Maple – a poem by Jessica Rae

Maple

Walking
in the cool air, searching
for joy – I find it in a
maple tree’s fiery mane situated
in a secret place atop
a hill against
clear blue sky
I feel closer to holiness
than the broken glass pressed
into clay soil at
its feet.

Jessica Rae is a perimenopausal, solo and childfree undergrad student, writer, and poet with chronic illness. Currently, she works at the campus library to help pay tuition, enjoys riding her bike along the Erie Canal, and writing about the environment, social justice issues, and other topics.