The Trees’ Calling
by Claudia Lamp

Most months of the year, my mind is troubled and fighting.
However, the season of gloom is the worst,
for my soul is still scared of the dark,
even though I’ve finally learned to sleep with the lights off.
A part of it is that my body needs sunshine to feel any sort of brightness inside of it,
especially when the trees and the grass are inviting me to join them in their annual end.
Their leaves fall away as does my hope for the future,
while the grass loses its green and I cover up my thighs with band aids and leggings and “THIS SEASON’S MUST-HAVE’S FOR WINTER.”
My eyes lose their light, and they turn from luminous to lifeless.
I know I need to learn how to water myself,
because winter will never take care of me the way the spring does.