Underbrush

BY SARA WHITTEMORE

I have watched the figs
ripen for centuries

I have stolen the dandelions
scattered their seeds across

fields of tulips and tamarind
I have felt desire crack

my lips apart under the weight
of its slippery skin

What fresh figs, what sunny flowers
What breaking hearts

rot beneath the hills
beneath sticky sidewalk pavements

We grow older but not duller
hovering translucent over

calendar time

Sara Whittemore is a poet living in Houston, Texas. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the Jack Kerouac School at Naropa. Her work has recently appeared in Interim Magazine, Juniper Press and Tiny Spoon, and others. In addition to being a poet she is an artist, alien and cat person. You can find her on instagram @sarafromsaturn.