Emergence

Poem By Suzanna C. de Baca

Emergence: A bud forms
from nothing. A thought, a spark,
a germ –  transforming from an idea 
to a fist of petals. Fragrant fingers 
waiting to unfold.
 
Emergence: A tip of a leaf unfurls
from nothing. From where there was 
only a bare branch, naked, coated in frost, 
bowing down under pale drifts,
comes the smallest sign of life.
A promise, pale green, 
smelling of piquant bark
 
Emergence: I have been curled inward
waiting for the snow to subside, 
barely surviving in the shadows.
There were days I was sure 
that I was already buried 
and no one would find me so deep 
underground. 
 
But I have been mutating: shifting 
in the darkness. Taking root in the murky crypt 
of winter. As spring peeks out from the rot
and decay, from under the ice and dirt,
I emerge: From nothing,
a bud, resurrected.

Suzanna C. de Baca is a native Iowan, proud Latina, publisher, author, and artist who is passionate about exploring change, transformation, and life in the Heartland. She is an inaugural member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative, where she publishes poetry and personal essays. She lives in the small rural town of Huxley, Iowa, population 4244.