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Dorothy Mahoney

Talk in the Ecuadorian Rainforest

Never walk alone in the jungle, the guide warns. Always we go with someone. There is danger.

As we walk, we pick leaves. To you, all this green is the same. To us, we take what we need:

this leaf stops bleeding, this one is good for snake bites, the bark of this tree is good for asthma.

This is what you call, pharmacy. Now close your eyes. He hits a broad tree with his machete.

It booms like a cannon. This is how we say we are lost. This is how we are found.

full moon 
on the Napo river
the glow of her last text 

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About the Author

Dorothy Mahoney is the author of several poetry books. Her upcoming book, Ceaseless Rain (Palimpsest Press, 2020) includes haibun about hospice care.