the sacrificial leaves of the mangrove tree
Calypso Spendlove
–
yellowing whispers
curt quiet
enough for me to hear
the rending of you
and I
patience
is the key to
wounded pride and
the expanded space
between your heart
and mine.
you made me double
down too soon
pain for a friend
lost
pain for a life
lost
washed out
watched
on the evening tide
why did you (fade us to yellow)
know the
only way for a mangrove-tree to
grow is to
deposit all the salt hate
bile bitterness pending breakdown into
certain leaves – sacrificial
leaves –
fade to yellow
fall let go
drifting downstream on
the back of the saline tide slowly
floating out
to sea.
Calypso Spendlove is a Melbourne poet influenced by contemporary Australian poetry. Her work has been published in Rabbit Journal.
Photograph provided by Loni Jeffs.
