top of page

"Jungle Life" by Elizabeth Schmermund




Outside we watch tender lime

leaves unfurl, new life.

A small hand reaches for

the copper-threaded can, pours

cold water right from the hose,

trailing droplets along


cornflower-colored morning glories—

although they are shuttered by now,

closed for business.

Their vines never shudder or recede,

rather seeking space within

vinyl, searching under siding,

always climbing

taller and

longer as if


they, too, want to enter

the house, a refuge from

August humidity but not

from sound or shrieks.

Kids fighting and tricycles

c a r e e n i n g

across tan tiles,

the grout porous and green

as if it, too, is photosynthesizing.

A jungle of the domestic—

as a mother I’ve learned

the contours of the seasons.

Comentários


bottom of page