The Forest

Maria Beben

We tasted the ache

like a familiar cocktail,

one we hoped

to never drink again.

We took a branch

that posed a danger

and added more kindling,

looking around for anything that would burn.

We gathered and added

until the branch became a forest

and we couldn’t see through

to the other side.

We felt betrayed

and confused

and didn’t understand how we got there.

We stood on opposite ends of this forest

and felt the weight

of a growing terror.

But at the exact moment

when we reached for a box of matches

to burn it all down,

we remembered that trees have branches

and began to climb.

From the top,

in the clear, crisp air,

we could see

that the forest wasn’t a forest at all

just a few trees

that we could help each other

navigate through.

So we climbed back down

and cleared the weeds

and made a path

and together,

celebrated the trees for what they were

before walking out the other side —

Together.

More from Maria Beben ↓

• @em_beewriting on Instagram
• @mbeben on Substack
• Her first poetry book, A Trail of Lost Buttons, is available on Amazon and Etsy.
• She is currently preparing her second poetry book for publication.

Mentioned in this episode:

One Poem Only submissions are open.

This round, I’m looking for poems about what remains. What stays with us when we experience change? What survives? What do we yearn to carry forward? Send me the poem you wrote and want the world to hear. Also, if you’d like to read your own poem on the podcast, you can. Submit a clear audio file recorded in a quiet space—no perfect studio recording required. And yes, your poem can have been previously published in a literary magazine, in print, or on social media. Submissions close Thursday, October 29. I’ll respond by Wednesday, November 11. Whether I read your poem or you read it yourself, I’d love to hear what you have to share.

One Poem Only Submissions Form