Forgotten Ground Regained
The Leaf
Jeffrey Rensch
I felt his hand – the harrow of fingersas I dropped down the dreary nightpraying his touch betokened Godand not a demon – but the fingers duginto my disconsolate dream,drew out my blood and brooding – bitter tears,tears of morose remorse – useless!Outside, this forest was fully hisand the leaves shoved underfoot – his own.I picked up the most cracked – which cracklingleaf could hurt my hand the most.Then something crawled – along – into –under my hand, gone hiding there.I’d held the dry-cracked hand of Christand had not reckoned what I held.I let the dead leaf blow awaybut I couldn’t sleep without my Lord.And the wind let it all blow loose,the denial and then the deep regret,all equally part of the as if past.
Published in Forgotten Ground Regained: A Quarterly Journal of Alliterative Verse, New Series, Issue 6, Sprint, 2025.
Copyright © Jeffrey Rensch, 2025
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