Single Sentence Forest Poems

While I usually tend to wax poetic for a page or two in my poems, I’ve been reading some poets who have small, almost haiku-like poems that capture a single thought or image, so I thought I would try this out. They weren’t originally all supposed to be a single sentence each, but that’s how they started to end up, so I went with it.

These poems are also heavily influenced by the Coconino National Forest, in which Flagstaff is located, and with which I am in love. I’ve tried to write several peoms capturing my feelings about the forest, but they always seem to either spiral out of control or die a few lines in. Thus, I think these single sentence poems can capture what I want more effectively, by focusing on a one small thought or feeling at a time.

 

Serenity

Some days

I wish I could run away

to the forest,

my forest,

where the only sounds would be

the shriek of the wind,

the roar of the trees,

and the constant cry of the birds.

 Fairy-Fire

I seek a path long gone,

scattered somewhere

under golden leaves

and rusty ferns,

devoured by the forest.

Solitude

The art of daydreaming

is like hermitic alchemy,

spinning loneliness into gold.

Cold

My breath floats white in the air

as the needles drip in the sun.

And yes, this isn't a witches broom, but I
didn't have time to take a picture of one

Witch's broom

 Mistletoe,

a kissing curse,

spreads like coral,

like fire,

under your skin.

Pain

I need a house
with large windows,

with panes so big

mine seems small.

Ponderosa

Sap, dirt, the inevitable burning,

and the scent of centuries-

old butterscotch and vanilla:

there is nothing like it in the world.

Mori

The forest calls

with a soft voice

through sharp needles

and stiff leaves.

 That's all! See you next time!