Sheltered from the sea, in dusky brambles in a hedgerow unkept, a wood lean-to shed warped
and worn and greyed near a live oak. This year again, a wasp queen untucks herself from winter
and begins to chew and spit the ledger board.

     wasp nest
     papering the walls
     in the nursery

Eric Oswald has published short stories, art including paintings and photography, and poetry in numerous journals and anthologies throughout the US and Europe. His influences range from the Romantic and Symbolist poets to Edvard Munch and Andrei Tarkovsky as well as the oak tree in his back yard in California.