Scott Simpson · Poetry

Long Grass Listening

A Hush Between Seasons · printed pages 1–2

The original line breaks, stanza spacing, and placement are preserved. Long lines scroll horizontally.

Source page 1

LONG GRASS

LISTENING

This is where

the world forgets

our names—

where wind speaks in full sentences

if you stay long enough

to hear them.

The grass,

bent under no weight but time,

shifts its green syllables

toward anyone

willing to hush.

You might think

this is emptiness,

but the earth

is busy saying

what we’ve stopped

asking.

You’ll need silence.

You’ll need a body

willing to kneel.

Then the roots

will begin again—

Source page 2

their slow stories

climbing your bones.

SCOTT SIMPSON