Approaching the Mountain

I’ve become friends
with a hollow tree.
I visit it every day on my way
to the mountain.
No wind or rain will stop me.
I kneel at knotted root and spill
my heart out on its limb. The tree
remains sturdy no matter
what I say. I climb inside for hours
and hide from copperheads.
We drink green tea
and fill the time with silence—
all that can be heard
are songbirds.
When there is finally
a knock at the door
I scrape away loose bark
and sweep moon dust from the floor
before I leave. Still, each evening
I’m a little closer to
that mountain.

Laurie Kolp, author of Upon the Blue Couch (Winter Goose Publishing) and Hello, It's Your Mother (Finishing Line Press), serves as president of Texas Gulf Coast Writers and treasurer of the local chapter of the Poetry Society of Texas. Laurie’s poems have appeared in Avalon Literary Review, Crack the Spine, Concho River Review, Scissors & Spackle, Pirene’s Fountain, and more. She lives in Southeast Texas with her husband, three children and two dogs. Laurie recently returned to teaching after a 14-year hiatus.