Texas is still picking up the pieces from another devastating February freeze. Some of the primary victims this round were trees big and small. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
What the cold wrought
it snapped, so peacefully
as if it didn’t have the weight of the world
on its branches
and i wept, quietly
as if i’d placed the fate of my day
on its lasting, the madness
i watched from my home office
a zoom call got paused
as years of growth and perseverance
met its bitter ending
and the wind and the frost
the sting of the loss
was both too painful to watch
and yet a sight to be sought
the clean snap
the lean back
the icy branch
lay dormant in my hands
Typewriter Rodeo airs each Friday on Texas Standard. Send us your ideas for a poem on Facebook or Twitter, or send us an email.
Typewriter Rodeo is also available anytime in podcast form.
If you found the reporting above valuable, please consider making a donation to support it here. Your gift helps pay for everything you find on texasstandard.org and KUT.org. Thanks for donating today.
