Elegy for a Pine Tree
The pine stressed by drought
died last summer. Beetles attacked,
bored holes through the bark.
Here, in chilly air, its branches shed
their copper needles. Pointy pompoms
drop from scaly limbs. No spearmint spikes
flicker through the winter,
but pitch tubes dot the trunk—
sticky clusters of popcorn sap
the tree expelled, an attempt to block
the beetles from the inner bark.
Insects cased in glassy shells,
they colonized the heart, wove ribbons
under the husk, S-shaped tunnels
to store their larvae, bar nutrient flow
from the needles to the core.
They recruited a fungus to stain
the bark blue and dehydrate the tree.
During last summer’s heat, the hottest
recorded, the beetles spread
to nearby pines to infest the stand.
They toppled a nation.
This poem was first published in the Fall 2025 issue of Willows Wept Review. I began writing this poem during a class on eco poetry. I like this poem because it’s not clear who the speaker is. It’s not clear who is giving the reader this information. The words remind me of my impact on nature and inspire me to care for the planet we’ve been entrusted with.
What Inspires You
Reading poetry journals inspires me. I love to see that new poems are being written, and poetry journals continue to publish these poems. Taking classes and workshopping is always inspiring as well because I see that other writers are trying to improve their writing or simply writing for the love of it. I read a wide variety of poets who inspire me. Sylvia Plath is one of my favorite poets. I’m always inspired by her use of metaphor, imagery, and bravery in knocking down doors at a time when many men doubted women could write poetry.
Bio
Sarah Banks is a nurse living in Mississippi. Her poetry appears in Rust + Moth, South Florida Poetry Journal, Gyroscope Review, Willows Wept, Thimble, Autumn Sky Poetry, and elsewhere. Her fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and appears in Flash Fiction Magazine, Bright Flash Literary Review, and Fiction on the Web.
Find the Spring 2026 Issue HERE
Previous NPM 2026 poets
| April 1 | Amy Forstadt |
| April 2 | Annette Sisson |
| April 3 | Beth Kanell |
| April 4 | Bonnie Proudfoot |
| April 5 | Charles Stringer |
| April 6 | D. Dina Friedman |
| April 7 | David Colodney |
| April 8 | Deanna Ludwin |
| April 9 | Eileen Pettycrew |
| April 10 | Felice Alexandra |
| April 11 | Grace Massey |
| April 12 | Hallie Fogarty |
| April 13 | Isabel Cristina Legarda |
| April 14 | Jon Yungkans |
| April 15 | Kim Welliver |
| April 16 | Laura Foley |
| April 17 | Laurie Kuntz |
| April 18 | Marissa Glover |
| April 19 | Michelle McMillan-Holifield |
| April 20 | Miriam Sagan |
| April 21 | Roy Mason |
| April 22 | Sarah Banks |