there was a day i thought you mine - k.s. baron

there was a day i thought you mine

when i extended a hand to pull you in

from the bones and bows that cornered you

in the cherry groves, to myself i said this,

this is what we are made of / dirt and flowers

leaves and wood chopped to pieces

and carved for a home / we deforest, we

harvest, we dig and dig into the earth

until the earth says no more and spits back

molten against the shields we created /

because one day i had the audacity

to think you mine, to bring you home

in a little pocket, in a little pot made from

clay and place you on the windowsill

to grow in sunlight that was never made

for you / you, who should have been buried

in the lands where your roots were severed

and snapped, torn to shreds and never

replanted and watered like once was promised.

K.S. Baron is a poetry editor at Last Leaves Magazine and a hobby-driven digital artist. Her work has previously appeared in Capsule Stories, Havik Poetry, Burnt Pine Magazine, and others. She has a soft spot for sharp things (like cats and cacti) and finds herself drawn to the moon.