River skimmed with ice,
white birch limbs swinging as birds
launch toward blue sky
Conifer fragrance
as the wind blows, scattering. . .
grave plots not yet sold
Sun and partial clouds
on her only child’s grave
flowers re-arranged
Racket of the crows
beyond cemetery pines . . .
the casket’s silence
Snowfall on and off . . .
no longer a clear footprint
where the funeral was
A dead willow branch
balances on a live one . . .
shadowed brook runs on
–Rebecca Lilly
Rebecca Lilly has published two collections of poetry: You Want to Sell Me a Small Antique (Gibbs Smith, 2002) and Shadwell Hills (Birth Book Press, 2002), a collection of haiku.
