Emily-Sue Sloane

Tucked deep within the woods
at the foot of the mountain
a stream bed gathers extra heartbeats,
glistening jewels hidden
in the mud beneath rushing water
that sings hallelujahs
to April's advancing warmth.

The weight shifts, mountain to stream.
Pulses come alive
clinging to cattail promises.

 
—Emily-Sue Sloane, excerpt from "Renewal," first published in The Closed Eye Open/Maya's Micros