The Start of New

railroad tracks ran
like spaced steps across
warm earth.

the distance between each
measured by held hands
and conversations.

strawberry alcohol painted
my lips a shade of red
and I learned how much he loved
his mother.

abandoned tracks towered
over a river, lifeless
the only breathing from the oaks.

wet tar covered my white shoes and turned
them black, caked by heat
as we crossed to the other side
with my eyes closed and his
wide open 

don’t look down
so I did and the tracks turned
to cliffs, and the trees to mountains
I was somewhere in between

clouds dotted the sky
like splatter paint, we were abstract
in a forest lining
water that didn’t move

birds sang as we ventured,
we were children again
running, laughing at nothing
and betting on who could find
the biggest walking stick 

it leans against the door of his
front porch now, as we sit at dusk
on the neon chairs and I think
back to the turning leaves of seabowoshi 

Renee Boyer was born and raised in Lebanon, Tennessee. She grew up in a very musically talented family, so she has always been surrounded by creativity and the arts. She first achieved her Associates Degree in Business, then continued in the Arts and recently graduated with a major in Creative Writing and a minor in English. The power of words, whether through music, poetry, or creative nonfiction has always inspired Renee in all that she does.