Critical Defense
–after Jane Hirshfield
I shot the Berretta
I loaded frangible round into the Berretta
I shot the Berretta
the way no is pushed when baptized yes
What We Give Up
we begin and end in the woods
old women and the trees
beyond the backyard
edging the cemetery
hide’n seek
girl scouts making camp
stacking stones
finding our paths back
crossing the bitter cold of the river
removing leeches
at the trailhead
leaves of three
leaving them be
silence
girls blazing into bright red
poppies pistil stamen pollen
boys our marlins
we slip into heels
move indoors
form families
asleep in our boat
we acquiesce through time
the forest just out of sight
in the fall
out the front door
wherever we walk
riotous willows, oaks, elms
clone, root, take seed
sprout
pilot us back
to where we began
Laura LeHew always thought she’d be an astronaut. She has published several books including Beauty (Tiger’s Eye Press), Becoming (Another New Calligraphy), It’s Always Night, It always Rains (chapbook in a collection–Ashes Caught on the Edge of Light: 10 Chapbooks, Winterhawk Press books), and Willingly Would I Burn (MoonPath Press). She edits her small press, Uttered Chaos (utteredchaos.org) in the wilds of Eugene, Oregon. Visit lauralehew.com for more information.