December

Gray and languid,

Day lights the earth,

Quiet and alive,

But slowing.

Ice around the rocks

Defines the edge of earth

Covered with leaves

That will become earth.

Two dogs bark in the distance:

Take us with you

To the river.

Then, bring us inside.

The river.

The dogs.

The walk.

The dark.

The silence.

The squeak of the door

On its hinge

The rush of warm air.

We bring the river inside.

Beyond us,

The dogs bark.