Al Maginnes

Heart Pine

The little fires of atoms spin fastest
at the dense center of things. Silk rosins
weave among fibers, knotting into fire
that will be the undoing of this body
a century in the growing. The smell
rises when the ax splits the log, rose
of kerosene climbing from the unsplit
heart of the tree. Wisdom says to chop it
into sticks of kindling, fire-starter
for winter to come. But there is always one
ready to toss the whole misshapen knot
into the fire, let it flame into a rain
of sparks meant to light all our coming days.

Al Maginnes has published four chapbooks and nine full length collections of poetry, most recently The Beasts That Vanish (Blue Horse Press, 2021). Recent poems appear in Lake Effect, Xavier Review, American Journal of Poetry, and many others. He lives in Raleigh NC and teaches at Louisburg College in Louisburg NC.