Wildwood Chapel
Your tiny church in the woods
is a wilting shelter for a sodden creed
only you would believe a prayer could keep the rivers
from swelling big enough to wash away mountainsides
out here, supplication rises like steam off the cedars:
gone once it loses the light
what’s sacral is the fog in the fleece,
the squall that fells the pine to its knees
the god of the sticks is long–legged
and steps easily over the debris
Madeline Downie
Maddie Downie is a writer based out of Bellingham, Washington. She’s an editor at a outdoor gear and travel magazine, but her true love is poetry and fiction. Her work can be found in various magazines including Plainsongs and Five on the Fifth, as well as on her Instagram @maddie__pens. She finds inspiration for her writing in the North Cascade wilderness.