Winding gravel veins
body of the mountains
peppered by freckles
of carved limestone remembrance
aged by creeping moss
cracks of time, worn by winds.
Whispered breaths,
rolling mists’ dense fog
fill riven boards
splintered white paint.
Muted glow of gold halo,
hillside church crosses
advertise revival.
“Prepare to Meet God”
Ancestral wood
distressed in rusted hues
praising feet warp ground,
susurrated prayer of skybound hands
for coal streaked cheeks.
Dampened hymns spill over thresholds
combing underbrush.
Kudzu creeps…it crawls
choking widowmakers,
the stalking feeling,
whistling in deep woods.
Sat like statues
fireflicked faces
sink into sunbleached seats
pass history,
tongue to teeth,
chapped lips to red-tipped ears
spin words like orb weavers
trap time in ancient drawl.
