yes, it’s probably because of climate change, but still

I like a garden of tulips
sprung too soon
speckled with ice in February
hoping

*

A Winter Meditation

move slowly
these days linger
in the pause
between seasons
everything breaks
down beneath fallen leaves
a promise: frozen ground
softens the earth
turns over
starts again

*

A Healing

post-storm we find a towering maple
collapsed on its side. the City

comes to clear the way
slices trunk and limbs to restore

the road to normal but
they leave the roots

behind, ripped from the ground
and pointing skyward like

hands in prayer

a year later
I walk through the park

alone

and find the roots
have grown over

moss and vines cover
every inch

a new ecosystem

*

Claire Taylor is a writer in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the author of a children’s literature collection, Little Thoughts, as well as two micro-chapbooks: A History of Rats (Ghost City Press, 2021) and As Long as We Got Each Other (ELJ Editions, 2022). You can find her online at clairemtaylor.com and Twitter @ClaireM_Taylor.