Soft Animal

We were cloaked in the awning

Of night or early morning

Through the headboard there’s a flicker of light

And light warning

Sophie’s on the bunk overhead reading Mary Oliver

While I lay still in my bed

That’s when I see you there

Fawn doe, light snow

Make me feel alive

Make me believe that all my selves align

Fawn, doe, light snow

Spots on brown of white

Make me believe that it is all alright

Your soft face pressed to the wilt

First spring sunrise

Standing low on quivering stilts

In attempting to keep you to stay

I am raising no alarm

It is just us two alone

Then I feel a sigh of wind, your raising eyes

A rolling fog that lets you hide

And I can hear the rustling as you go

Oh, go slow

Fawn, doe, light snow

Make me feel alive

Make me believe that I don’t have to die

Fawn, doe, light snow

Spots on brown of white

Make me believe that there’s a God sometimes

The ring around your mother's heart

Grows saccharine then falls apart

And I can hear the rustling as you go

You camouflaged or clearly seen

And nameless in the in-between

And I can hear the rustling as you go

The firing of rifles off

The echo hits you hard enough

And I can hear the rustling as you go

A soft and skittish self inside

Shines golden, opal, chrysolite

And I can feel the rustling as you go

Oh, go slow

A mob of voices harmonize

And tell me that you're not alive

But I can feel the rustling as you go