We perched together,
dug in roots that
reached but did not intertwine
for so long to each other,

the first hint felt like
failing, felt like too many
trials rushing in.

But they were groundwater
quenching parch thirst, clearing
the throat for what came,

brilliant laps of sunshine
that didn’t waste themselves, turning
our leave a bright flash shade

of green-blue crashing off the
sky.

We looked to and dreamed
of how to float, if only there

weren’t these tangles that kept us
tethered to the ground.

But then, sometimes,

We felt it was good to be
just where we were,
with nothing else

but the memory that we
were once so solitary, so unringed by oaken time.

And now had a perfect spot
to shade each other.

Carter Vance

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Carter Vance is a writer and poet originally from Cobourg, Ontario, Canada and currently resides in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. His work has appeared in The Smart Set, Contemporary Verse 2, and A Midwestern Review, amongst others. He was previously a Harrison Middleton University Ideas Fellow. His latest collection of poetry, Places to Be, is currently available for purchase at Moonstone Arts Press.

• Days of Plenty
• Slow Waltz