Upland forest: sweet gum, redbud,
maple, redolent ozone poorly
mannered, dew-rimmed and branched through.
Tulip poplar floated above. The spine
of trail takes us to a green riot
weave. Tiny swimming
tadpoles in the creek and looking
down into them I don’t
care what I see except I don’t
see harm. The day answers everything
after a pause. Autumn slouches and reminds me
of nothing. Just the air and not
our regular invasions.
No one is responsible for light.
Between This Scar and That Task
Lauren Camp is the author of eight poetry collections, most recently In Old Sky (Grand Canyon Conservancy, 2024), which grew out of her experience as Astronomer-in-Residence at Grand Canyon National Park. She served as New Mexico Poet Laureate from 2022-2025. Camp has received a Dorset Prize and finalist citations for the Arab American Book Award and Adrienne Rich Award, and fellowships from the Academy of American Poets and Black Earth Institute. Her poems appear in Kenyon Review, Poem-a-Day, New England Review, and Beloit Poetry Journal. www.laurencamp.com