Broken Limb

Broken Limb

© 2022 Jeff Jackson

There’s a broken limb

Hanging from this tree

Did the wind snap it off?

Was it sheer gravity?

There’s a broken limb

Tried to glue it back

But my tears won’t stick

Tape won’t mend the cracks

Someday these bones turn to ash

Someday this skin turns to dirt

Someday this tree will collapse

Someday I’ll be…free from hurt

There’s a silent grief

That we all bear inside

Of our long lost love

Or a family divide

There’s a silent grief

Not much we can do

Just replay those scenes

All the thoughts we run through

But that broken limb

Had a healthy trunk

Came from vast winding roots

From the earth it has drunk

There are unbroken limbs

That deserve our time

Gather all that fall

Light a fire, say goodbye