Member-only story
The Goddess
Nov 29, 2021
she burns her face in black
bark, etching new stories
on old parchment,
traces birth
death
in the lines around her eyes
they tell the story
of the green man now gone
the lamb left behind
as birds piston in acrid air
only roots remember his name
thin bones, wrapped in white hair
she affixes snow sprigs
bright and brittle.
they snap
and span
frigid air
long fingers spread shoots,
green with spring thrum,
push them down
into snowbanks
let the green sleep awhile yet
in silent memory
copyright/all rights reserved Audrey Howitt 2017
originally published at With Painted Words, Dec 2017, ISSN 2042–3543 Publisher: Four Parts Press, UK
