Baptism Under the Maple Tree by Madeline Waechter
Vermillion hues tornado.
I let them kiss me on the descent.
Alive again,
I’m alive again.
Under the harvest moon,
absolve me of my terrors—
for mother, I have sinned.
Embrace me with gnarled limbs.
I worship in your waters,
fingers graze the pale bark of your skin,
two beings never more akin.
I lift my chalice to you, old friend.
my baptism under the maple tree
the rushing river’s end.