Though born and raised in Jamaica, Stacy Ann Chin has lived in the U.S. for many years, long enough to have become naturalized to the seasonal patterns of the temperate climates of the northeast. In “First Green” she uses words to paint a surrealist study of the changing season. Her images present like the speckling of a painting, each new image morphing into another fresh and distinctive image.

First Green

Leaving bents fort

Earmark me images

speckles pretty

with the tears of a child

open windows and summer

approaching

ominous air-marked with the first green

leaf

over-turned poems

forgotten

mouths tinkling humor

pages rustling

soft

sensible shoes

cushion/support/words

they unwind me

orange and gray laces

you/me entwined/separate

swirled

ice cream hinting the weather

may soon be

warmer

We do not accept unsolicited submissions. American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.