WILLA v13 - Pressed Leaves at Morningstar

Pressed Leaves at Morningstar

By Pamela Waterbury

Morningstar is a spirituality retreat for women in northern Michigan.

Parchment thin skin, veins visible,
you press together in decay.
Your skin
forms a new pattern,
more elemental -- a wasp-nest skin
as each distinct leaf -- oak, elm, beech --
bleeds into the other, becoming earth,
reminding me of my cheek pressing
into my mother's, pressing
into my grandmother's,
as my daughter's presses into mine,
becoming Woman.

Pamela Waterbury is an Assistant Professor at Aquinas College where she teaches English and Young Adult Literature. She has an MFA from University of Vermont.