Stardust

Ants, unlimited and active,

Are shooting stars

On a moonless night

Darting swiftly across the vast expanse

Without end or rest.

Eagles, attacked by blue jays,

Shake them by ascending

Thermal, hypoxic air

Between this spinning rock

And infinite dark.

I am the ant,

Digging and hauling

Building and seeking

Unaware of my cosmic counterpart.

I am the eagle,

At lower altitudes

Plagued by pecking and scratching

Transmitted through my psyche.

To know my stardust

And to meet it there —

Delivers me from these daggers

I grasp in fearful hands.

Thousands of Petals

Delicate pink blossoms float

With creek bubbles

Passing beneath a stone arch bridge

Like fairies

Grazing between willow’s soft fingers

Lily pads and lotus flowers catch them downstream

I sit on the grass amongst thousands of petals

Holding open a book I’m meaning to read

Words on the page call to me gently

But all I can think of

Is you

Seeking

Seeking my bear

I found cobalt dragonflies

Lounging on blades of grass;

Water gleaming, cradling boulders;

Knotted roots anchoring pines.

Two osprey circled the mountain air.

They crisscrossed,

And I felt you

Standing next to me

As if we would hold a secret

Of a dive into the alpine lake,

Returning to the sky with a fish.

Then, we would catch a kiss and a bear hug

Beside the shore.

Fox Medicine

In still air and changing light

While giving horses alfalfa

A snapping twig turned my eyes to

Feminine power, shape-shifting creativity

Revealing herself

From the forest across dried grass

Entering the corral through its broken-open gate

In high black boots and sleek red jacket

Bold, light steps obscured her behind a berm

I nervously circled behind the stalls

And waited beneath oaks for her next move

Cresting the threshold to follow my path

She reappeared

And sat facing me in the warmth before twilight

Like she arranged our appointment

We gazed at each other for so many breaths that

A new world opened

And she guided me

Into the space between realms

(Cover art by Hannah Willow @hannahwillow.artist)