A Clearing The soft clay slowed our step Along the ridge, the treetops swayed And then the mist above the distant valley Closed As we clambered in the sudden dark I scraped my skin The rains were brief and once the storm Blew past I showed the reddening To demonstrate how fine a line Created two worlds out of one And when it swelled I told her It was strange how little pain it took To turn a crocus or a daffodil To weed The forest silence grew, of unseen Scuffling and attack, hunger and Pursuit and song, as if the Nothing new were nothing new We reached the clearing I could see that she had tired of All my talk about interiors As she admired the view – An earthen wall, the massive roots Exposed, the fallen trunks Upon the slope and overhead the light – Refusing to believe that what we saw Had anything to do with love ________________________________________________________________________ |