Walking out into the night
no wind to stir the trees out of watchful quiet
silver-blue the ground frozen hard
water noise sounds clear masking distant men sound
cars and trucks and harshness
move through the wood move through time
nothing bad there tonight unless you take it
and we did not
bright distant stars share the sky with her
and most fade in respectful humility
and we wonder at our smallness
most are inside watching, warming, waiting
missing this and that makes us feel more keenly
the wonder as the ancient ones felt it
their blood is in our veins, their atoms in us and the ground
so they are part of us and our souls remember them
gaze at the moon the pole star the ice in the sky
light incense, toast the moon, scatter wine on the snow
blood red but nothing died here
something was born here
beneath the full moon