ARTelevision

building the blind

I use your eyes
and think as you
see the old place
as new

treading familiar pathways
carefully leaving no trace
no scent of my presence
in our shared territory

stepping back
breathing it in
observing the execution
of your ancient habits
comprehending the logic
of your journeys
and the reasons why
you move

finding your shapes
pressed in the grass
where your kind halts
before stepping
over the break
in the rusted wire

where you scrape
the soft earth
where you pass
and have passed
for millenia

your prints still fresh
the raw rubbed trees
all the feral signs
of your dangerous life

you are drawn here
by the fallen chestnuts
the white oak acorns
where the autumn sun
warms the side
of the southern hill
where you hide at noon
by the quenching waterway
the cool places where
I spot you
beneath the moon

the old paths
converge here
in this enfolding valley
this is where
I'm building the blind
on the earthen dam
above the small stream

behind two trees
I tie branches
to brambles
lay a cover of twigs
drape brown grass
level a spot

when I return
I'll sit for hours
watch the frost evaporate
admire the morning mist
note the insistence
of the woodpecker
and wait
for the flashing instant
I end your numbered days

this ineffable
special place
is not so unique
each foot
of living earth
is after all
a place for dying

__________________
create evolution