by Leslie Anne Bustard

Clusters of Japanese maple seedpods
hang loosely on my neighbor’s tree.
Each pod’s skin tinged pink—
hinting at new life.

Leslie Anne Bustard is a writer, poet, and editor who lives with her family in Lancaster City, PA. She writes for Cultivating Project and Black Barn Online. Some of her other writings can be found at Calla Press, Deeply Rooted, and Christians in the Visual Arts. Wild Things and Castles in the Sky: A Guide to Choosing the Best Books for Children, a book of essays she co-edited, will be released this April through Square Halo books. Her website, Poetic Underpinnings, contains her writings, podcasts, and the goodness of other people’s creativity.