Amy Allen
Image by Nick Monica from Unsplash
Amy Allen studied English literature and creative writing at Skidmore College and at Drew University. She’s participated in the Green Mountain Writers Conference and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference in Sicily. Her work is published in The Mountain Troubadour, Pine Row Press, Months to Years, Atlanta Review, Fauxmoir Literary Magazine, The Moving Force Journal, and Sunflowers at Midnight. She lives in Vermont where she owns All of the Write Words, a freelance writing/editing business.
Gathering
You held out your palm
and asked me if I knew that pinecones
opened in the heat, each scale unfurling
to release their seeds.
my fingers traced the ridges
as you spoke.
Our daughter was busy collecting them
making little piles
underneath the swing set
before begging you for a push.
She shrieked and laughed
as you lifted her higher
than I ever would have dared
and I winced when I heard them
crunch under your boots
but she’d already forgotten her treasure.
Later that night I smiled to see
you’d left one on my bedside table
a fugitive from the yard
one perfectly spiraled survivor.
I lifted the covers and slid in beside you
my chilled limbs seeking yours.
And in the warmth of our blankets
I opened to your touch.
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