What You Can't See

hollymanno.com
Feb 11, 2022
1 min read

Updated: Jun 1, 2022

Check out my latest collaboration with Tales from the Trail, a YouTube channel that is devoted to prose and nature. This is my second time working with this terrific group of producers and it was a pleasure. Here is the original piece:

I sometimes see my sister with her family We howl across the sandy valley Our woofs echo in a choir Other relatives join, raising the octave higher Their distant calls in rhythm with our history Ties that connect us to this territory The two legs wander past our den Our life is certain death to them They consider the vast taupe dunes And see no bounty––only doom Sans one miraculous lemon tree Even the faithless must concede Limbs gnarled from distress Trials that brought forth her very best Though she takes only a narrow space Her love is a limitless place Blossoms spray yellow to gold, weighing branches Without water, what are the chances? Jutted rocks crumble to the floor Moving earth––an incredible war A pillar made by two crashed boulders Shelters us as my young grow older The sunrise shines golden sparkles of light A roughened face that holds delight Cracks and ruts make space for trees Spotlights from heaven splay white-hot beams Proving time––it does move slow But fast––as any breathing thing knows Because the land was here before we And that is how it shall always be