Initiate, by Grace Grafton

Posted on September 4, 2019

Initiate

By Grace Grafton

Carrying the bundle of lore on her back,

remembering the skeleton’s advice

(how colorful seemed the skull

how artistically smiled the teeth)

she’s on her way through the narrow pass.

The trees hang over, the skeleton says ‘Burrow,’

the lore whispers ‘Peek.’

She spies her way through

(how heavy is the birdsong

how ancient is the evidence)

and believes herself a story,

but neither a beginning nor an end.

The Halcyone Literary Review

Volume 1 * Number 1 * Summer 2018

Grace Marie Grafton’s most recent book, Jester, was published by Hip Pocket Press. Six collections of her poetry have been published. Her poems won first prize in the Soul Making contest (PEN women, San Francisco), in the annual Bellingham Review contest, and The National Women’s Book Association, Honorable Mention from Anderbo and Sycamore Review, and have twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Ms. Grafton taught for decades with CA Poets in the schools, and was awarded twelve CA Arts Council grants for her teaching programs. Recent poems appear in Sin Fronteras, The Cortland Review, Canary, CA Quarterly, Askew, Fifth Wednesday Journal, Basalt and Mezzo Cammin.