Craig Arnold

Craig Arnold (1967-2009) earned his BA in English from Yale University and his PhD in creative writing from the University of Utah. Arnold grew up in the United States, Europe, and Asia. On April 30, 2009, Craig Arnold went missing on the small volcanic island of Kuchinoerabujima, Japan. It was concluded he fell to his death while hiking.

You have towered here

leaning half over the wall

all my awareness

pulp under my feet

tracked your purple all over

grandmother's carpet

a sapling planted

by some sea captain to make

shade for a future

This winter you lost

one of  your long low branches

to a backed-up car

Your bark is wrinkled

more deeply than any face

you live so slowly

do our voices sound

to you like the fluttering

of  paper moth wings

do we seem rootless

holding fast to the anchor

of  the saddest things

— Craig Arnold from ‘Mulberry’