Poetry by Sam Barbee
Snow surrounds the wide pond.
Squirrels bound edges.
Silence begotten by still water.
Catalyst for green leaves,
and April hymn.
Crystal glaze bursts open in sun–
ice will submit, sepia dispelled
with winter’s consent.
Trees resemble
black keys against white horizon,
flats and sharps to swoon the rabbit
down the slope.
Chill abides
with brown bear and cub.
Downey woodpeckers tap notations.
Nature’s fresh overture
spills treble,
underlies with bass notes–
morning song
and dirge alike.
A red fox waltzes
extinction. Toppled trunks and stumps
ossify, and
shadows absorb imprecise
light. A lively etude evolves
with the immaculate meadow.
Evergreens sway, fallen cones
freckling drifts. Each impact
an apostrophe
to this frozen canticle.
Dwindling imprints reminding
we dance alone.
Sam Barbee’s newest collection is Apertures of Voluptuous Force (2022, Redhawk Publishing). He has three previous poetry collections, including That Rain We Needed (2016, Press 53), a nominee for the Roanoke-Chowan Award as one of North Carolina’s best poetry collections of 2016; he is a two-time Pushcart nominee.
