Cottonwood Tree

Nora Ley

The cottonwood tree
Is crying for me

With its fluff
Falling slow

Soft laughing babies’ cheeks
And its leaves that grasp
At my heart
Like little fists cling to my hair

I let them
Because it is too precious
Though it hurts.

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Nora Ley is a student of English and Art at Benedictine College. Her literary and painting mentors include Mary Oliver, William Carlos Williams, Jans Peter Jacobsen, Paul Cézanne, and Jean Siméon Chardin. She aims for an ever-evolving style, honesty in expression, and openness of thought in pursuit of understanding. Her poetry and prose explore precise images of nature and questions about femininity. She is from Overland Park, Kansas.