under a bigleaf magnolia
I can’t identify most trees by name
but I can remember exactly
where we were standing
the first time you kissed me
afterward a friend told me
it was a bigleaf magnolia
a primitive tree, she said
one of the first with flowers
a tree with leaves so big
they sometimes break
their own branches
I know how the magnolia feels
standing in its shade
I thought my heart might leap
through my ribcage
dissolving when it touched the air
and I imagined you opening
your own chest / reaching in
to remove a piece of your heart
so you could share everything with me
1 May 2013
Auburn AL
Comments