February is a dark heresy.
Bare branch alters and dull
shell-gray cathedral sky.
Everything so hard and tired
and I wonder if we will ever
know green again.
I chew on prayer seeds, hoping
they taste of tree bud and April.
I wonder if this is what it is
to search for God.

Alexis-Rueal is a Columbus, Ohio poet whose work has appeared in online and print journals throughout the US and in Europe. She hosts a monthly poetry show called The Second Friday Fete and enjoys performing in venues and festivals throughout Ohio and Kentucky. Her first full-length collection, ‘I Speak Hick’ was published by Writing Knights Press in 2016.