Beauty in the Waiting
By Mara Lovelock
I forgot to sow my California poppies
seeds pushed to the back of a drawer
The oak leaves form a blanket
though fall has come and gone
But the ache to tend my garden
is swallowed by my rattling breath
and my demanding lungs
I find the seeds
scatter them haphazardly
return to bed
Mara Lovelock
Mara Lovelock’s (she/her) work explores trauma, illness, bisexuality, nature, and motherhood. She facilitates a community mindfulness and meditation group and is at work on a memoir-in-poems manuscript. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Gnashing Teeth Publishing’s Poem of the Day, Chainmail Poetry, Stanchion’s Elegant Variations, Third Moon Press’s anthology The Museum of Human Hearts and COPE MAGAZINE. Originally from East Tennessee, she lives in Northern California with her husband and 4-year-old son.
IG: @maralovelockpoetry
Photo credit: Ashe Walker
Apricot Press 