Earth Song

Earth Song

In the low morning light, a coyote crossed
Before me. The color of fallen leaves,
He seemed to be a tawny illusion
Until his glowing eyes looked into mine
And tugged my gaze behind him into woods
Brown yet with winter memory and buds
Gestating in the sunlit noontime air.
Where to from here? his eyes ask–then, air.
Where will you go, hungry dog? I wonder.
The sun slips the grip of sheltering hills.
In the shadows, the geese feast on dewy lawn.
Where are the hatchlings?  Where, now, the dog?
The sun rises. The breeze lifts. Now, Earth’s song.

Author: Sandy Lee Carlson

Photo: Qijin Xu on Unsplash