[Fox Tracks]

19 January, 2011

A walk alone

in the company of

fox tracks

snaking

this way & that,

hugging

the shore.

My snowshoes

like clydesdales

plowed the snow

fishtail crosshatch

in my wake.

I walked into

the wilderness, into

the descending dark

far enough

to think of wolves

& feel afraid.

But, homeward bound,

heart attempting to hammer

I was stopped

overjoyed

at this:

melon-gold moon

blazing behind black pines,

clouds turned

periwinkle &

honey.

Into the night,

into the night

we went,

the fox tracks

& I.

-Rose Arrowsmith DeCoux