My boys cut through the woods like syllables
over the roots of trees and thistle yarns
into the deep humidity of leaves
where fenny moss and mushroom spores emerge,
as they themselves emerge fresh from the wood,
ascending accents leaning forward through
the brush where I wait for them, patiently,
like a period at the end of a line.
Jon Olseth is a teacher of English and Creative Writing at Riverland Community College and currently lives in
Mankato, Minnesota with his wife and four boys. Stories have been published in The Blue Earth Review, The
Legendary, and Frostwriting.
| Much of my writing comes from watching my boys. Sometimes it seems as if they have crawled out of the earth itself--covered in dirt and cockle-burrs. I still spend as much time as I can with them in the woods. It's just getting harder to keep up. |
