Broadleaf

My daughter calls it
batacco. Funny, but just
because she’s little.

It serrates the sky
broad leaves claw the horizon
greedy for good things

given freely by
worked earth, as a livelihood
for honest people.

Come fall the barn swells
sides splayed like fraying broom heads
as wrinkled leaves dry.

How much, I wonder,
of growing is killing? How
much of life is death?

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Jessica Whipple is a writer for adults and children. Her debut picture book titled ENOUGH will be published in Fall 2022 by Tilbury House. Though it’s obviously different than kidlit, she has always enjoyed writing and reading poetry.