The skeleton stands fast
Against the lushness,
The green and litmus
Spectrum of shrub,
Of flora gripping
The earth in tarsals
Wedged deep below
The shallow rhizomic
Mat of grass.
Stark solemnity masks
The once prolific dance
Of petaled buds swirling
In the late spring breeze.
Carpals reaching
To make perches
Hide the burrowed nests
Nurturing life wrapped in death.
Paleness shimmers
On the rough crests,
Exoskin beckoning with texture
What fanning leaves once did,
Watching the play of children
Swinging from its limbs.