Will Falk
Will Falk is a poet, activist, and attorney. The natural world speaks and his work is how he listens. His law practice focuses on helping Native American communities protect their sacred lands. He is the author of How Dams Fall (Homebound Publications, 2019, creative nonfiction) and When I Set the Sweetgrass Down (Wayfarer Books, 2023, poetry). He is currently an MFA candidate in Western Colorado University’s Graduate Program in Creative Writing, Poetry Concentration. You can follow his work at willfalk.org.
Before Rose Petals Become Doe’s Milk
I watched my grandmother smile while
a thin doe ate her favorite rose bushes.
Thorns pierced the doe’s tongue. She bled
drop by drop, a scarlet clock measuring her time left.
A thin doe ate her favorite rose bushes.
My grandmother knew what grandmothers know:
Drop by drop, a scarlet clock measures the time left
before rose petals become doe’s milk.
My grandmother knew what grandmothers know:
Doe’s milk becomes two speckled fawns.
Before rose petals become doe’s milk,
mothers must navigate many thorns.
Doe’s milk becomes two speckled fawns.
My grandmother grew children like does and roses
because mothers must navigate many thorns
with faith that children bloom in many forms.
