In The Valley Deep//Lauren Girod

I have seen what grows in the valley deep —
as long days’ shadows crawl
into the new season’s nightfall
when the crops come to reap

with what grows in dried creeks.
As limestone marks the drawl
of an army’s surrendering call;
I have since seen what grows in the valley deep.

For when kudzu begins its strategic creep,
it echoes its cousin’s appall:
O’ Captain, from my fields of white shawl,
bear no pride in your final sleep.

A warning of sin too bleak
when sun reaches its midsummer sprawl
and man to son and son to man call
of what remains buried in valleys deep.

Angels bemoan free from recall
to bear witness to an echoed thrall.
O’ brother, spare me the endless throes to weep —
I have seen what grows in the valley deep.

Lauren “Prophet” Girod (they/she) is a poet, author, and narrative designer who received their BA in English from the University of Georgia. Their poetry has previously appeared in Stillpoint and Outrageous Fortune, and was named as an honorable mention for the Virginia Rucker Walter Poetry Prize for the poem I AM THE DEER AND THE DEER IS ME. When not creating odes to H.D. and Sappho, they can be found drinking cheap espresso and cuddling with their cat, Mr. Pumpkin.