Languages I Never Learned to Speak

Languages I Never Learned to Speak,
Cover art for Bacopa Literary Review 2023

When I was small I lived
near woods, but never learned
the plants or birds
or trees: how smooth
and double-toothed
the alder by the stream
the juicy hemlock's tiny cones,
the mystery of seeds.
And acorns, while familiar,
held no hint for me
of red oaks' slender
catkins in the spring.
I knew the owls, of course,
and hummingbirds, but missed
the warblers, the wrens.
I couldn't name the spicebush,
whose soft yellow leaves
would tantalize my dreams,
and blackberries that stained
my finger's loops and whorls
could teach ne only
e's and y's and o's.    

                                                                  

From Time Warp: Poems