Fibonacci Elegy

I

see

the trees—

their growing—

I see all growing

is a record of desire.

A tree is dead at its heart and carries no water.

If sapwood lives, the heart will not decay. Trees form their heartwood in the summer and
fall,

killing the old inner circles, turning black, purple, red, yellow, orange: invisible record of letting 
go. Heartwood is stronger dead.  

Vine tendrils lean themselves into darkness wanting to climb, since every tree must cast a 
shadow. What stumps I've mistaken for trees—what chiaroscuro—what eagerness to 
bend myself, when I most need light, away from the light. 

AMELIA HARRINGTON

Amelia Harrington is a poet from Appalachia working as a writing consultant at Omaha Metropolitan Community College. They completed an MFA in 2020 with the inaugural class of the Randolph College MFA where they co-founded and edited Revolute. In May 2025 they will graduate with a PhD in English Literary Studies from the University of South Dakota. Their poem “Quiet Body” can be found online, published by Sugar House Review.