Periods

The noble forrest swallows air
From a bygone decade.
And that air was the lifeforce of Thoreau
When we were synergetic
With tree, sky, & Old Man River–

We were songbirds who perched before
Civilization but not
Empire. This observance became
A fertility of rites
Addled by modernity.

But -
Time divorced from Romance is
Still a day. A pen and cog:
Biographer of ologies
And matter manufactured
Can valorize the fleeting
Moment and lift from ignorance.

 Ashleigh Cheshire is a junior at Conneticut College