April in the Forest
The ground opens
in April
unbuttoning herself
to welcome the moon.
I have seen
this before. Or
maybe I haven't
ever seen the way
the leaves twirl
as they step from
their buds. Or the
way the earth
swallows more of me
each spring
as I melt back
into her, part of me
struggling against the
quicksand. The rest
exhaling relief.
I am remembering
what I knew as a baby
& forgot until this April
when I saw the earth open
in the center of the forest.
-Erie Chapman
