If this rain
in the forest,
then a full moon
for keening dogs.
If love,
then a dark room
fighting against firelight.
If warmth from the fire,
If wood smoke,
then time,
the patience it takes to grow a whole tree.
If dogs, curled on a rug
in front of the andirons,
then love in a forest
bathed in moonlight.
If this forest
and you listening
for trees to fall,
then me shivering in the rain
for want of fire.
Grant Clauser lives in Hatfield, PA where he works as a
magazine and website editor. Poems have appeared in a variety of journals
including Painted Bride Quarterly, Schuylkill Valley Journal, The Literary Review,
Apiary and the Cortland Review. He was the 2010 Montgomery County Poet
Laureate. This fall he’ll be teaching a class on nature writing at Musehouse in
Chestnut Hill.