Awakening
Col Fleetwood
after Robert Frost
Col Fleetwood lives and writes in the wild and beautiful borderlands spanning Scotland and England. He is a prize-winning short story and essay writer and was delighted to have a recent poem featured in the highly respected webzine Ink, Sweat & Tears. Col is a long-standing supporter of Berwick Literary Festival and regular compere of the Berwick Writers’ Forum Cabaret of Words.
Of the submission, Col says, 'In November 2021, Storm Arwen had a devastating effect on much-loved woodlands in Northumberland and the Scottish Borders, and consequently on my own mental wellbeing. (The six day power cut didn’t help.) My poem, Awakening, was an attempt to see beyond the dead wood, to the trees that I know will eventually replace the fallen. I will leave the reader to decipher any other, personal echos.'
Awakening
after Robert Frost
the way storm disturbed the night and the burly tree crashed down
how a flood of sunlight warmed the cold clay ground
the way a seed threw off its veil pushing out a tiny shoot
how roots explored the soil and discovered it was good
the way branches found the sky and loved the freedom of the air
how sap began to rise pulsing through the quickened core
the way pink buds burst and the lovely petals glow
how you lie down on the earth to catch the blossom on your tongue
the way the screaming swift’s song rings
the way another path begins