by Adam E. Willis

it leans here

barely rooted in

the crust of the

hillside sprouting

violence in the

slush and the

runoff from the

road by

the Amtrak

piled coals and

railroad spikes crushed

beer cans broken

needles sticking out

the gaping wound the

dying wood ashen

bark stripped from

what’s left of us

dried lignin

bleached dried grain

a painful shell

a painful screaming

gash in the

sky the vultures

overhead the

only clue left

is the rot

Adam E. Willis is a writer, artist, and biologist from Delaware County, Ohio. Adam uses his poetry to express his displeasure with the current state of the environment. In this regard, the tones and themes of his work are often negative; however, for his sake, the creative process is therapeutic.