There is this great softness
when I slow down and see.

entering the body and the world
in the same breath.

the whole thing a dance,
all parts moving together,
shifting, gliding, in open focus.

my weight pours into earth,
as an egret in the river, moving through
that steady open surface
and the dark layers
to the ground below.

And then they appear, my quiet friends
on careful, slender legs — the does.
their faces nearly invisible
as they wade through a tan ocean
of hushed grass.

yes, I see you. and yes, you feel me,
ears flicking and pausing to
shape each sound into that
bodily knowing.

gazes meet,
and continue on,
each to our own place
and our own peace
in the dusk.

St. Mary’s County, Maryland
November 2018