In Place

We pass through the grasp
and cling of briers,
under dogwoods opening
their white crosses,
to plant Ozark Chinquapins,
hoping to bring them back
from blight.
I peer into each hole
we step over,
wondering who lives here,
whose neck bends,
whose legs curl,
who takes rest
in this womb of soil.
I want them for neighbors.
Am I some body
these tree roots yawn for?
Can I take shelter
in their place?

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Tina Mozelle Braziel is the author of Known by Salt (Anhinga Press), winner of the Philip Levine Prize for Poetry, and Rooted by Thirst (Porkbelly Press). She directs the Ada Long Creative Writing Workshop for high school students at UAB. She and her husband, novelist James Braziel, live and write in a glass cabin that they are building by hand in Blount County. They are currently writing a memoir about building their home.