by Whitney French
when we say the trees creak, what we really saying is
there’s a story slowly dying—caught in wind, nursing
a moan, an odd spice sprinkles the ear, a rusty seesaw,
arthritis locked away in heartwood. when we say the trees creak,
what we really saying is the veil be thin, so don’t
you try to scream while your mouth is full, we knew
yuh nuh ready, the way you looking at us, can’t help you
now. the leaves out here quivering harder than you now
in a chasm within yourself, surroundsounded by bones
on bark, churning against the grain they grew. limbs of children
crawl out of negative space where limbs of sycamores sway,
pickney with backwards feet & a slow gait gaze too deep
into you. when we say the trees creak, what we really saying
is you shouldn’t talk to duppy suh, unless yuh wan’ float
upstream face down & got no need to gasp for air no more. these times
are not like our childhood days, when the trees circled clockwise—
clear eyes in our skull in a new direction, even orchestrated
—this sound heard best closed-eyed, heart-cocked. you willing to give up
citizenship to the Living? crane in closer, ‘llow the vibrations
to sieve through your whole note self. when we saying the trees creak,
what we really saying is another gate got activated & we & you
both know you ain’t built to pass through it, the longer they moan
the deeper your tongue plunges to the depth of your stomach
because you’re not supposed to be here. fuck! we’re not
supposed to be telling you shit, yet ah suh we reach & trees still
ah creak suh ... a trance looms over sky. look at us
fools in the night, in a forest of demons & we
only had to die to tell the tale.
WHITNEY FRENCH (she/her) is a writer and multidisciplinary artist. She is the editor of Black Writers Matter (University of Regina, 2019) and Griot: Six Writers Sojourn into the Dark (Penguin Random House, 2022). Whitney French is also the co-founder and publisher of Hush Harbour Press. Currently, she lives in Toronto.
At Rhineback was edited by Terese Mason Pierre. It can be found in Augur Magazine Issue 6.1.
