Librarian in a log cabin
computer a nod to technology
a message from the regional office:
consider the potential for historical weeds.
Professional jargon for purging the books
gives way
to thoughts of the field and the hillside
we tend.
Saint. John's Wort hazes the horizon in sun
cut for pressing between Blue Stem fronds
snatches of Bitterroot, tangled in patrons' comments
“I want to know if what I saw is a wolf.”
Lavandula Officinalis, still pungent when disturbed
among the sheaves of committee notes.
A twig of Eupatorium Perfoliatum--
Boneset for colleagues' minor frays.
Shavings of Red Willjow in winter
blood of Winnebojo--
friend, trickster, giftgiver
from the land where the spirits walk:
“as long as the rivers run,
as long as the grass grows....”
This spirit all too ready to walk
jangle and jargon, too many senior moments.
All too ready to press petals of Black Eyed Susan
between pages of evanescent books
as Sweet Grass, petals, and pages
all turn to Shooting Stars.
Carol Lee Saffioti-Hughes
A retired college professor and former librarian in a log cabin in the north woods of Wisconsin, Carol Lee Saffioti-Hughes has published in 4 countries, with some of her poetry translated into Chinese. Works appear in Ekphrastic Review, The Awakenings Project, Feral, Of Rust and Glass, the San Antonio Review, and many more. Her most recent chapbook, "When Wilding Returns," is available from Cyberwit Press, and from on-line booksellers including Barnes and Noble. She lives with her husband, creatures in the woods, and thousands of pines.
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