Wild Wood: Hush
The trees are bare, the sky a dazzling blue
Two panting dogs push forward through the deep
Every sound echoes clearing our path
Breaking the silence of the winter wood
In snowshoes we float above the earth
Solid rock, fallen branches, warrens
Away from the city each snow covered
Lump might be home to a sleeping black bear
Orange tags on a line of trees stake a claim
One side indistinguishable from the other
Ahead a boxed outline something man made
The foundation of an old cabin
My father lifts aside branches to show
The slight impression where deer curled to sleep
The Silver Fox
for AM
In the hush of winter
The silence is almost perfect
White against white
Hunched he waits
Then hops, one foot
To another, impatient
Hungry, he’ll take
What he can get
Carrion, even berries
He’s wide-eyed and new
Handsome silver fur
Glittering in the half-light
Paired, unwilling
To survive
The cold alone
