Ice on the Branch

Poem By Suzanna C. de Baca

Ice on the branch
glistening like crystal
glowing in the sun
so lovely that the vision constricts my heart
the branch will shatter soon
dead from the sudden shock
dead from the intensity
from too much radiance 
 
Ice on the snow
hoar frost
a fairy tale scene of white
crystallized vapor clings to the drifts
catching the light like a prism
like new love
magical and untouched
gone so soon 
 
You said you needed time
I was a petal
crushed
scent emitting
blossoms ripped
how fragile I was
I don’t recognize myself now
but at the time I could not rip you out of my skin
could not tear you from my blood
you were inside me like a killing frost
like a vole carving a dark tunnel
like fruit rotting
like ice on the branch

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.

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2 thoughts on “Ice on the Branch”

  1. Powerful and expressed in such a condensed way. I just finished an excellent Icelandic murder mystery (Jonasson). In addition to the normal murder/police investigation side, it is a novel of love and loss, as I was touched when reading your poetry. Except the murder mystery took 400 pages to express.

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