Riding Rough in Bramble

Broom time
in late July
has bees
resting on
thorns, teeth
ready to tear
any invader.
My hands
sweep to
find swollen
blackberries
so vocal
they cry out
as my wrist
opens, swift
sacrifice as
roots dive
silently below.

---

Joddy Murray’s chapbook, Anaphora, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2020. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in over 70 journals, including, most recently, The Adirondack Review, Caliban Online, The Cape Rock, Cobalt Review, Crack the Spine, Diverse Voices Quarterly, The Fourth River, Moon City Review, Nude Bruce Review, OxMag, Painted Bride Quarterly, Pembroke Magazine, Perceptions Magazine, Poydras Review, Prism Review, Southampton Review, Texas Review, and Westview. He currently teaches writing and rhetoric in Fort Worth, Texas.

[image: bee on scotch broom | Jeff Steenbergen]