Wintering on the Ann Arbor Trails

by Kyunghee Kim

when the autumn leaves fall

your path shows me to

let go

 

to shed the past

all that i am holding onto

that letting go is also the making

of something new

 

look at how bare, how free your limbs are now

winter’s sky wide open, welcoming the bitter

as your wind brushes my face, waking me up like a morning call-

like a wake-up-call to slow down

slow down to see, slow down to be present

as we walk in care with our frozen toes, overlooking this frozen river

this slippery path that mothers us to

slow down

 

mothering us to slow down

 

because we are here for a while.

 

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Kyunghee Kim is an Ypsilanti-based writer and coach who explores loving and living in the complexities of loss through themes of belonging, becoming, and everyday life. This poem, “Wintering on the Ann Arbor Trails,” expresses the countless times the Ann Arbor trails, around Argo Park and the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, have offered her wisdom and beauty as she walks through the seasons.

***

This is an original poem, brought to you by Poet Tree Town, an Ann Arbor-based poetry-in-public initiative and celebration of local Washtenaw poets. Find out more about Poet Tree Town on Instagram and Facebook, or say hello at poettreetowna2@gmail.com.