Afterthought

Contributor: Trivarna Hariharan

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In the bark of a flowering tree,
a woodpecker hollows a nest for himself.
When he hums, I note that his beak is
full of a grief I will never know.
There is such distance
between us.

With the slowness of a waning moon
as he continues to dig into the wood,
I wonder if this is all it takes to build
a home: a grief, a song—
sometimes both.


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Trivarna Hariharan is an undergraduate student of English literature from India. Her writing appears or is forthcoming in Right Hand Pointing, Third Wednesday, Otoliths, Peacock Journal, Front Porch Review, Eunoia Review, and others. She has served as the editor in chief at Inklette, and is the poetry editor for Corner Club Press. Besides writing, she learns the electronic keyboard, and has completed her fourth grade in the instrument at Trinity College of Music, London.