Necklace on a branch

A string of warm walnut tears hang off a branch

In a stream of light,

like prayer beads

separated by

The blood drops of coral.

The forest path

Where everything begins and ends.

Next to me

a gathering of trees,

New leaves

Adorning their branches.

Nearby,

a graveyard

of fallen trees

And the song of a displaced bird.

The burrs no longer stick to the edges of clothes ,

As I walk ahead to a clearing

Where sun has taken the place of the shelter and shadow of trees.

The necklace fades into the hush of new leaves

– a shucking of skin

Like a butterfly

– leaving something behind.

By J. Hamilton

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