Forest Shadows, for dVerse Poets, Aug 5, 2025

29 Replies

Forest Shadows

A man is bending his wife—
melding their shadows with the green forest.
They do not listen
to the nearby cannon’s roar––
will not imagine
that their life together,
so new,
might
not
stretch
into
the
future.

When he looks at his pocket watch,
someday children
ringing a well-stocked table
vanish in
her imagination.

He lifts his musket to his shoulder,
trying to believe
in a future
and in it,
this memory:
two shadows
joined as one,
invisible against
the forest wall.

For dVerse Poets, the prompt is “Forest”. If you’d like to participate, go HERE.

29 thoughts on “Forest Shadows, for dVerse Poets, Aug 5, 2025”

  4. kim881's avatarkim881

    I like the shape of your poem, Judy, like forest shadows, and the way the couple’s story unfolds among the trees. It’s such a sad history of lives cut short by war, and the curtailing of a future they dreamed of, especially in the lines:

    ‘When he looks at his pocket watch,
    someday children
    ringing a well-stocked table
    vanish in
    her imagination.’

    I love the hint of the supernatural.

    Liked by 1 person

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  10. Helen's avatarHelen

    Your poem is incredibly relevant to what’s happening in today’s world, Judy ~~ and describes it beautifully, though it’s also frightening.

    Liked by 1 person

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