The goldenrod is bright,
the Queen Anne’s lace
curled into seed nests
when I notice the grass
on my mother’s grave
is not grass at all.
It’s yarrow and clover,
mallow and moss,
and the silvery leaves
of pearly everlasting.
![](https://southshorereview.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Goldenrod.jpeg)
Vanessa McKiel
Vanessa McKiel has worked as a tree-planter, an outward bound instructor,
and a family doctor. Now she is a printmaker and writer. Her work has previously
appeared in The South Shore Review, as well as Ravensperch and The Archive Project. She
lives in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.