A leaf in the shape of a faerie – a poem by Alicia Elkort

A leaf in the shape of a faerie 


in the shape of a leaf slipped 
upon the twilight’s pink 
& retreating winds. 
The rays of the sun scattered 
across the earth’s atmosphere, 
& as the globe tilted toward 
nightfall, I could see you clearly 
in the shape of a word

as if a great blue heron 
slipped along the water, 
the dark muck of lake 
retreated & ripples spread
in concentric circles, 
the sounds of each letter 
holier than the one before.  

If you happened upon the scene 
at that moment, you would have heard 
what sounded like a star exploding 
in another galaxy, for that is what happened 
on this solitary fall day into night.  
And the word was lovely,  

the word was germane, the word  
settled my heart where it made 
gossamer feathers whereby all my traumas 
lay down their burdens & their wings 
expanded across the rich, strong muscles 
of their backs like Gods in flight. 
I sat at the edge of the forest—

all my traumas lifted upon each leaf’s 
spine & dissolved by the mercies 
of acceptance. I wanted to follow you, 
chaste faerie, into the nothingness 
of night, but you left me there, 
settled in the dirt with rocks 
in my shoes & a word 
on my tongue that tasted 
like honey & went down 
like the juice of one hundred
hallowed pomegranates, each seed 
its own blessing. I finally knew 
the way to save myself—
I rose to my feet & headed home. 

Alicia Elkort‘s first book of poetry, A Map of Every Undoing was published in 2022 by Stillhouse Press with George Mason University, after winning their book contest. Alicia’s poetry has been nominated several times for the Pushcart, Best of the Net, and the Orison Anthology, and her work appears in numerous journals and anthologies. She reads for Tinderbox Poetry Journal and works as a Life Coach in Santa Fe, NM. For more info or to watch her two video poems: http://aliciaelkort.mystrikingly.com/