Scott Simpson · Poetry

Digging

A Hush Between Seasons · printed pages 13–14

The original line breaks, stanza spacing, and placement are preserved. Long lines scroll horizontally.

Source page 13

DIGGING

There are stories

hidden under the earth,

layered in loam

and silt and bone—

stories that rise

like steam

when the spade

cuts deep.

I dig for memory—

the sound of my father's boots

in the garden,

the way he pushed his foot

against the steel edge,

leaning into the earth

like it might answer

something.

I find a stone

and lift it out,

rough and unremarkable—

but my fingers know

it's been waiting.

It fits my palm

like something returned.

I place it on the pile

Source page 14

beside the others,

evidence

that I have been

below the surface,

listening.

SCOTT SIMPSON

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