Valley Intrusions
by Samantha Malay
published in The Path of Birds: Poets on the Rise (Flying Ketchup Press 2023)
ISBN-13 978-1970151404
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1970151404


six years I lived near a sea-level river
crows looked into my west-facing windows
onions sprouted in the back of a drawer
and springtimes
through doorsill and drainpipe
ants arrived to salvage terrain

hillside now
a few miles north
gulls land on the roof
and in rooms that sigh where floor meets wall
night reveals my siblings as children
chains of paper loops dangle from ceilings
voices echo on swimming pool tiles
tree roots anchor streets we once knew
as a thumb sliver lingers
and the scalp aches when a braid shakes free