SUMMER
2003

flashquake Poetry

AUTUMN
by Khristina Chess

 

At birth, I emerged as straight as the trunk
of the oak, my sapling arms stretched
toward the sky. Each year, new
shoots forked from my center,
exploring alternatives…

Art classes
          Science experiments
               Creative writing
          Math competitions
All possibilities

Autumn by Khristina Chess

As endless as the universe
expanding above my inquisitive fingertips.

Calculus instead of music,
Engineering instead of nursing,
Each ascending branch limiting
my path just a little bit further, fork
by fork, limb by limb, until
I found myself
here.

Trembling.

A leaf at the tip of a twig
with nowhere left to grow
just waiting
for the fall.

 

 
 

Copyright 2003 by Khristina Chess

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