Aspen Grove

White beams of light,
slender trunks like arms,
reaching, rising in an invocation
to the sky, a congregation of lovelies,
slim and graceful, your pale papery bark
so delicate, your sharp, dusty scent
enveloping me, round leaves,
lemonish green, rustling like pages
of a hymnal in the breeze.

White beams of light,
each of you unique
and separate, a family, a flock
connected by blood, roots seen and unseen,
you are one. You inhale upward,
exhale downward
toward the center of the earth.
There is forgiveness
in the grove.

The Stars Line Up

The stars line up on Orion’s belt
in the coal-black sky. They shine
in a tidy row, buckling the belt
of the Milky Way.

The stars align, up and down,
over and around the Big Dipper,
drawing the moisture of night
to quench the thirst of those at rest.

The stars collide in the blackest chasm.
When I heard you hanged yourself,
I wept. The rope cinched my vision
and haunted me in my sleep. You were lost
in a sea of ebony, in the sable hole
of space, and I was powerless
to untie you.

But one night, one dream drew
the cord anew. I saw a shining lasso
of stars surrounding you, suspended
in the heavens, lights twinkling,
illuminating your bright smile,
your lovely wide eyes, lashes
like butterflies. The gossamer strands
wove into a glistening net
and the constellations absorbed you
into the light, into the night,
carrying you home.

Suzanna C. de Baca is a native Iowan, proud Latina, executive, author and artist who is passionate about exploring change and transformation. A member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, her poetry has been published widely in national and international literary magazines and journals. She is the recipient of the Derick Burleson Poetry Award and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She lives in the rural town of Huxley, Iowa, population 4244.