‘11 AM: Shotover Hill: Oak Tree, 12 Month Exposure’ by Ian Dudley
In a long exposure the tree is an angel,
or subatomic particle.
The fluid motion we see in a video game
stutters for a fly, and for other trees
the branches of this motionless oak
writhe like snakes.
Counting what you cannot see,
there are one and a half million leaves,
each oval bitten into lobes
for fingers to fit or eyes to look through,
a cloche of green
waxing rich with dull red gold,
until frost snicks
the abundance loose.
In this picture there is no moon
nor stars nor birds nor clouds nor people.
From issue #8: spring/summer 2019
About the Author
Ian Dudley has published poetry in LossLit, One, Ink Sweat and Tears, The Dark Horse, Poetry Saltzburg Review, The North, The Rialto, and Wasafiri. He has won the Oxonian Review (2015), Aesthetica (2017) and Manchester Cathedral (2018) poetry competitions.
