leaf skeleton

Frail  (n): the name given to a leaf when the flesh has rotted away and only the network of veins remains.

aged ninety-four, my mother
has become a frail. her skin, 
thinned to the point of disintegration
reveals the map of her veins, 
the network of capillary threads 
that keep her whole.

her bones have become chalk.
a fragile skeleton, delicate 
as the leaves that lie
on the brink of becoming earth. 
frail. gently, carefully I
explore the word: frail. 
my mother has become a frail.

Originally published in 192, The Poet’s Directory (2020)