CLEARING

On these mornings
still beneath hoarfrost
I observe how
the deer never follow
the path we made
how the small hound
keen on a scent
steps precisely along
the cobbled line
of river stones
how they move
oblivious to us
as minor prophets
awaiting an opening
like the wind
willing to risk any turn
in constant yearn
of a clearing.

–first appeared in New Delta Review