In the Night, the Wind in the Leaves

by Dannye Romine Powell Issue: Fall 2017 Special Issue on Extinction 
swirled and rustled
out our open window as if
for the first time,
as if we never were,
the earth newborn, sweet.

And what of us – asleep
on the too-soft bed
in the old mountain house?

Gone.

Also our children.
The ones who lived, the ones who died
before they grew whole. All night

the breeze swirled and rustled
through the leaves as if it played
a secret game, swirling
and rustling all night

as if we never were.

Dannye Romine Powell

Dannye Romine Powell is the author of four collections of poetry, two of which have won the Brockman-Campbell Award. She's won fellowships in poetry from the NEA, the NC Arts Council and Yaddo. She has worked for many years at the Charlotte Observer, where she most recently served as book critic.

Fall 2017 Special Issue on Extinction