November 2013

Consecration  by Kirk Westphal

I am the fallen hemlock

beside the trail

with the dry rot pulp and moss breath

and the naked ribcage of my sins

spindling outward at incomplete angles

remembering the heavy lattice

of their green-black days.

Please, as you pass by,

break off one branch each day.

Snap them to the trunk,

in pieces if you must, leaving nothing

so that one day I may rest here

proud as a mainmast

or as the noble elegy

of some great spire.

 By day, Kirk Westphal works on water supply plans around the world and has written many technical articles on water management.  By night, he writes poetry, memoirs, and fiction.  His poetry has appeared in Dunes Review, The Road Not Taken, National Public Radio, and the chapbook Lines in the Landscape.  He is also the author of the book Ordinary Games, scheduled for publication in 2015.