Restoration
a poem of place & perseverance
Restoration In the valley between Banner Elk and Boone, we walk with friends and a hound with a wayfaring soul. The tended path winds like a labyrinth through an open meadow, under water last October. Hung in a mature oak, a sign marks how high the river rose. Now, a year after hurricane Helene, the field blazes in every shade of yellow, flutters and hums with butterflies, honeybees and swooping swallows. I am lagging behind, day-drunk on flitting monarchs and an explosion of pale-lavendar asters. My friend is right here with me, her sky-blue eyes, also wide with wonder. The goldenrod is taller than us. We slow down to listen for some wild thing—maybe a bird, or is it a frog, singing from deep inside this tangle of nectar, seed and shelter. We leave with mended hearts, anointed by milky sap and fuzzed hitchhikers.
Thank you for reading a small spectacle. For more poems about place and the wild things that keep us company, my book Every Note, A Lantern is available from Kelsay Books and Amazon.
Coming Soon: New Poetry Collection
No One Ever Says explores themes of trauma and grief, while bringing to light the silent and often solitary struggles women face surrounding chronic pain and illness, infertility, and a loss of motherhood. These poems hold space for vulnerability, stillness and recovery, while drawing on a reverence for the natural world, its abundance and resilience.



I love the idea of being day-drunk, perfect for the time of year. I may have been a little tipsy this afternoon.
I was right there with you on this walk of wonder. Beautiful poem, MK. 🦋