What The River Birch Says, by Babo Kamel

This season brings
shredded bark, a peeling away from the heartwood
that holds fast what I cannot share
I gift you broken twigs, a scattering of diversions
to worry your dreams
a lost dog with your brother’s face
a lost blue mitten, frozen
someone’s footsteps lost in snow

I watch you rise into each day’s winter
how you wrap it around like a shawl unlearning warmth

If I told you what I see in the world’s windows
it would break you.

_

As a dual citizen Babo Kamel resides in Montreal, Quebec and in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her work has appeared in the Greensboro Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, CV2, Poet Lore, and Best Canadian Poetry 2020 among others.  She is a Best of Net nominee, and a six-time Pushcart nominee. Her chapbook, After, is published with Finishing Line Press. She holds an MFA from Warren Wilson’s Program For Writers. Her book, What The Days Wanted is published with Broadstone Books.

© 2023, Babo Kamel