Holding On

    by Tammy Daniel

In the underbelly

of our family tree,

a leafless limb dangles—

a snag caught in the rustling

sleeve of another branch.

Even persuasive wind,

like that of logic or reason,

fails against the hard wood

refusal to let it fall into that

from which it came.

As if constant cradling

will somehow fuse

it back into itself.

© 2012  Tammy Daniel

Tammy Daniel lives in Blue Springs, MO with her husband, two children, and an old English sheepdog.  She was a finalist in the Davis Grove Haiku and Nature Poetry Contest sponsored by The Writers Place and the Kansas City Port Authority.  Her work has been published on the Johnson County Library website and will soon appear in I-70 Review.

Emily Lasinsky is an emerging writer and artist. She has a deep passion for art and writing, and she hopes to use these expressive forms when counseling others in the future. She currently combines her love of writing and helping others by working as a writing tutor for college students.

Holding onto Innocence © 2012 Emily Lasinsky