ROWAN WALLER

count them 
along with your toes

to pull the ants from the ground you are
not to use your bare legs they 

sting whatever they might find or consider
food you are to use a carefully 

selected twig with a fork at the tip
plunge said small branch into the 

wriggling mound and wait for them to pour
out a pulse of red consuming 

from the ground up as fire climbs a tree
each determining at the forked path 

which stem to swarm blindly onto before
realizing they are all ends

Rowan Waller is a writer and rock climber based out of southwestern Colorado. She spends most of her time playing in the mountains and deserts near her home, and teaches others how to do so safely as a climbing guide and manager of her local climbing gym. Rowan draws much of her inspiration for her writing from her time outside, and often looks back to her childhood for the nostalgic content she addresses.