BLACK FOREST

Languid

shadows breathe
across the lake,
the foothills
pale in distance,
the soft night air
conspires now
to soothe
the blackened trees
wearied
by the blaze
that all day
wept …
… with heat
and smoke
and flame.

Like statues
made of darkness
untrembling
beneath the sky
black
trees stand

tall.

mabel kaplan 1984