Page 45 - WTP Vol. VIII #4

grazing that increases wildflowers.
What I wanted: water vole - mountain hare - Atlantic salmon – pillwort - sticky catchfly. What I wanted: movement that moved me.
~
Seek buds and find flowers
Complete both sections of the form Hardship makes the heart grow harder
Pruning amplifies air circulation
Talent levels with applause Black ice forms when temperatures near freezing
Seedlings harden off with time
Take one giant step Three baby steps Fasten safety belt Adjust rearview
The chance pass at entrance, cameo, or role on Fleet or Wall or Easy
dots the declamations
Naivete obverts sophistication Turn wheel in direction of the skid
Step light
Step back Step out
Gilliland’s poems are included in the multimedia book Strange Histories: A Bizarre Collaboration. She has taught at Cornell University, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, and Namgyal Monas- tery Institute of Buddhist Studies. Her award-winning Ruined Walled Castle Garden will be published in 2020. Previous poems appear in WTP (Vol. VII #10).
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