The Bible said Let there be Light
and there were men carrying lamps into the mines,
and women scrubbing dust from porch steps.

The country—uncountable acreage—has been cracked open
like a ribcage and orchard trees are grappling with sky.
Watch them shift their roots. On the branches,

the weight of apples. Each fall
a bright crush of red
reminds us that hearts still work underground.

Anna Rose Welch

Anna Rose Welch received her MFA in poetry at Bowling Green State University. Her work has also appeared, or is forthcoming in Linebreak, Water~Stone Review, and Rufous City Review. She was recently named a finalist for the 2013 Crab Orchard Review Allison Joseph Poetry Award.

Artwork:  Emre Kunt, “The Ache.”
Website: http://emrekunt.deviantart.com/

21 Dec This entry was published on December 21, 2013 at 12:01 am and is filed under 4 (December 2013), Archive, Poetry. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.