Shadow Limbs Search
Shadow limbs
of the dead tree
stretch across the barren dirt
in search:
they descend into burrows
where dark meets dark,
reaching for a neighbor
but the sun moves
so touch never happens.
Shadow limbs rotate
sunrise to sunset;
a sundial ticking seconds
like bug tracks stitching
hourglass sand.
Snagged
It’s painful for the cottonwood tree
to grow beside the wooden fence.
Posts planted in the ground
with no hope of spreading roots.
Planks nailed like fake branches
with only splinters as leaves.
When the wind blows, when the boughs
brush against lifeless boards,
the tree caresses the fence
and doesn’t mind leaving
snagged leaves behind
quivering on splinters.
Below Morning
Sunset on top of the clouds
shines brightly like snow-capped
mountains with darkening
valley in gray below.
Below in the cornfield
rows of irrigated ditches
reflect last rays of sun
stretching toward the highway;
car headlights brighten
like shafts of morning
attempting dawn.
Leaves Down
Over the bridge
across the river
to stand under trees
where leaves fall down.
Squirrels scamper
up wrinkled tree trunks
when rafts float on top
of rapids following gravity
beneath cliffs jutting outward
in a valley seen from above.
Stand Still
If I stand still,
will my feet sprout roots
and dig into the soil?
If I raise my arms,
will bark crust over my skin
and branches solidify?
Will my open eyes
change into knot holes
staring at cousin trees?
Will my hair grow leaves
or pine needles depending
on my choice of trees?
Will I hear a tree fall
if I stand still?
Diane Webster lives in western Colorado. Her poetry has appeared in North Dakota Quarterly, New English Review, Studio One and other literary magazines. Her haiku/senryu have appeared in failed haiku, Kokako, Enchanted Garden Haiku. Micro-chaps were published by Origami Poetry Press in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Diane has been nominated for Best of the Net and three times for a Pushcart. Diane retired in 2022 after 40 years in the newspaper industry. She was a featured writer in Macrame Literary Journal and WestWard Quarterly. Her website is: www.dianewebster.com
You can find more of Diane’s work here on Ink Pantry.
