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“Walking Tree” © 2026 collaboration by Joni Caggiano and Mike Utley

sorrow whispers, a trail of ants
vapors torpid, their sting savage
memories choke, a riff on my sanity
night terrors open a door; I navigate

this silence is not silence
it is the groaning of eternity
the synaptic death-throes of
what once made me human

innate images, a stolen span of time
sacred sensations indelibly imprinted
naked bodies on airbrushed fields
heat rises, a bashful sun misleads

the stones of the fallow field
understand this moribund keening
in their granite hearts
atoms tremble and thrum

fireflies, monarchs die in poison skies
hope festers like the dying root
of the Walking Tree as it seeks life
our vivacity, prisoners of life’s war

a sparrow dies in a child’s hands
its blood a crimson filigree
in tiny cupped palms
as God sleeps

tears stumble from heaven
fold time, I long for an image
of a pond, a red bobber
and a sigh of contentment

morning has faded
a bleached chrome sky
pounds down upon us
and we’re none the wiser

dispirited, I lay in bile
consumed by loss
your laugh is etched in braille
upon my once youthful breast

the phlegm of bitter memories
seasons my lips and tongue
I do not speak for fear
of what may escape my soul

evanescent, the grains of sand
slowly ferry my soul to sea
an aging octopus, my sentry
beams steal through tender grip

don’t look at me moon, I beg of you
for my darkness is my secret
it is terrible and relentless
but it is mine

---

Joni Caggiano

Joni Karen Caggiano is an internationally published author, poet, and photographer. Her debut poetry book, “One Petal at A Time,” (Prolific Pulse Press, LLC) was an Amazon bestseller. She is a three-time Pushcart Nominee and 2024 Best of The Net Nominee. Joni is a regular contributor to Hotel Masticadores and has collectively contributed to four additional Masticadores Magazines. On Spillwords, she won Socialite of the Year 2023, 2024, and Publication of the Month for November 2022 and June 2024, and has been a regular contributor for five years. Joni’s work appears in a dozen anthologies. Her website is https://the-inner-child.com.

Mike Utley

Mike is a deaf writer/photographer who lives in rural southwest Colorado. His love of nature shines through his poetry and photography, both of which he uses to make sense of his world. His blog–Silent Pariah.