Appalachian

on a porch swing
balmy hickory
night-swept
soft folds of 
brown leather
travel down 
her shoulder
earthly green
buttons 
meet the muscle
of her neck
pulses bergamot
black temple grazes 
her chestnut fade 
she looks over 
an iron balcony
a chorus of crickets
chirping under 
the cover of a
dark forest
a mournful confession
how she caught one
as a child 
held it captive
in a mason jar 
coveting its song
only for it 
to die
sometime
in the night
while she slept
on flannel sheets