fire-making for

by beverley bie brahic


what tricks
body will play crave
rain on the roof
patter of love

One paw steals off
all itself picks
scab of the oak

When shy birches shed
white bark
starlings settle on their shoulders

you can light fires
ashes with
that It’s one of those

out-in-the-wilds-night
coming-on-wolves
girl scout tricks eg

knowing which leaf
applies to the sting. Here’s
ferns to feather twig

circle of stones First strip
the outer layers underneath

dry as tinder It
only takes a spark