The Ghost Forest
Neighbors call the stand of pinea ghost forest—t because when glaciers melt,the sea steals onto the land, the saltseeps in, and long established marshes,
once fresh, now salt, seizefrom bleach and blacken at the rootof grubby shrubs, grasses, stands
of sweet gum and loblolly pine—true, these trees are less susceptible to the longvisitingfloods that now belongto those insinuating sea waters. True,
the stranger sea and swindler saltwaterbecome lodgers that coax their salt tenderlyinto the tendrils that have rooted one
to a home until one is rooted out.True, the residents have long lived throughthe come-ons—not just the flashes of seizurenor a familiar’s bolt—look—
after a drought, after the saltwaters move inwithout being seen, every thingturns to a moldering spine so that nowany who remain in a cul de sac longto drive off—but on what…
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The American Poetry Review (Digital) - 1 Issue, May/June 2020