the rite of the yielding timber

i pull my spirit
into the marrow

tucking the light
behind the bone

there is no sin
in the hollow hour

or the branch
that stands unburdened
by the ghost
of its own blooming

i am
the dark work
of the root

tending
to the chemistry
of everything
i had to let go

the gold that fell
is now the floor

it is the soft
and heavy feast

where my failures
turn to nectar

under the weight
of the silver frost

i offer no apology
to the ice

for the quiet way
i am becoming

less of a ghost
and more
of the wood

the earth
does not ask
the snow to leave

it only waits
to drink
the melting

i am
the deep
and patient hunger

resting
in the cradle
of the mulch

feeding
on the wreckage
of my grief

until the soil
forgets the sting

and remembers
only how
to rise

i am
the stillness
before the green

the sacred rot
that holds
the sky

—lyra moon (the sacred rot that holds the sky)
april 6, 2026