March 2022
/Freeze and thaw, snow and rain, the month of lions and lambs is upon us. From the still dormant orchard, last year’s leftover leaves rattle in the wind; while from the waking wetlands, this year’s redwings flirt and trill. Welcome, March, month of stirring contradictions, you bring us much to savor, mourn, and contemplate.
Plein Air Meditation
By Hilary Sallick
Water falls from the eaves of the hut
I stop and listen Walking here
I was making new paths
through snow
stepping up and out
and then as if wearing high heels
finding myself suddenly taller
on the frozen crust
The snow is hard and soft melting now
dripping landing noisily
The birds are calling redwing chickadee crow
I’ve turned off my phone
and fall silent into inner
silence the ground where the forest
stands so many trees leaning against
one another entangled branches and roots
I found a twig of the oak
caught by the pine
Now cold on the rising wind
last year’s leaves dangle musical
Hilary Sallick, a poet and teacher in Somerville, MA, is the author of a full-length poetry collection, Asking the Form (Cervena Barva Press, 2020). She is also vice-president of the New England Poetry Club. Her poem, “Plein Air Meditation,” first appeared in Old Frog Pond & Studio’s 2018 Plein Air Poetry chapbook, Paths Tracks Trails. To read more of her work, go to www.hilarysallick.com.