Written by Lia Pas
large pines, branches heavy with needles & cones
wait in their weightiness
hang in the wetness
branched, each one like bronchi
each tip a lymphatic round cone
the heaviness, stillness
the reaching up
& hanging down so I am draped beneath
sharp scent
each drop of rain a small weight
sweetness on the tongues of needles
each cone a filled vase. each branch an arm
reaching slowly through time
these trees tell me how to be still & strong
even when I am wet and heavy
even when I am laden, so many young & tender things
hang from me, so easily dropped
green now but soon mature & dry
brown & weightless so the wind might take them
and underwind
the chirp of birds a fast, bright rhythm
punctuated by the percussive caw of crows
they mark time in excitement
fast fluttering
the quiver of one's heart while held in my hands
such a delicate hollow-boned thing small & quick
it drinks raindrops then rests its twittering
apace apace quickness in still trees
small lives held in the branches of the old ones
.
Lia Pas is a disabled Canadian multidisciplinary artist. She has published one book and two chapbooks of poetry and works in image, text, and sound exploring body and states of being. Her anatomy-themed embroideries have been featured in many online galleries and are part of the Sask Arts permanent collection.