Leaves Of Bamboo was Previously published in Waterways 30.10 (2010)
Bamboo branches are not easily moved
by the day’s fluctuations of light and air.
They trust foundations firmly dug in,
grounded, and so resist
the easy titillation of breezes
while they inhale deeply the climax
of a shimmering jungle sun
after the all-night storm;
they respond
respectfully, reservedly,
with the applause of leaves
open now to enlightenment
James Penha
A native New Yorker, James Penha (he/him🌈) has lived for the past three decades in Indonesia. Nominated for Pushcart Prizes in fiction and poetry, his work is widely published in journals and anthologies. His newest chapbook of poems, American Daguerreotypes, is available for Kindle. His essays have appeared in The New York Daily News and The New York Times. Penha edits The New Verse News, an online journal of current-events poetry.
