Marking Time—Dawn Morrow

Dawn Morrow writes poems for people who think they don't like poetry. Although she holds an MFA from Seattle Pacific University, an MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill, and a BS in Engineering from the University of Iowa, she’s a Jersey Girl at heart. Her poetry has appeared in the Molehill, vol. 5, published by Rabbit Room Press and SLAB Literary Magazine. She recently released her first volume of poetry, The Habit of Hope. 

Marking Time

Lately I’ve found myself staring
at the leaves left on the nearly bare trees, 
wondering how they know it’s time
to let go. I see the breeze pick
up just enough to coax stem from branch
carry them away in its current, and drop them
to the ground. Last spring the tree outside
my window still held a handful of last year’s leaves. 
They clung, brown, brittle, death shadows
as new green budded around them. 

My thumb has found the rough places 
on my hand, thickened skin from months
of workouts, the bar rubbing the same
places week after week until calluses
grow to protect the fragile skin beneath. 
I like to lift heavy, I tell the trainer. She loads
the bar, pound after pound to press
my muscles into exhaustion. She warns: 
When it gets too heavy, you let go.

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