Is it any more strange
than believing
that a man rose from the dead
that wine becomes blood
for me to believe
that just by being
among you—
you twisted, gnarled
sentinels of the desert
sprigs when pharaohs
were helpless babes
midlife as Rome crumbled—
that I may absorb
a sliver
of your endurance
your willingness
to go on, despite
all you have weathered
all you have seen?
-Brian Rihlmann
Brian Rihlmann was born in New Jersey and currently resides in Reno, Nevada. He writes free verse confessional and nature poetry. He has been published in Blognostics, Red Eft Review, Synchronized Chaos, and others.