Woodlight
©January 18th, 2017
By Vijaya Sundaram
We walked through the woods
Dog leaping like salmon ahead.
The sun was out, and the day stretched
Silk-like and shining, strand by strand,
As we took the crunchy path into the Fells,
Green in the whispering woodlight.
Mosses and fan-shaped fungi,
Snagged our attention as we walked
And the dog was joyous, for we paused
And, arrested by moss and dead leaves,
We did what she does … study the woods,
She with her nose, we with our eyes,
As the trees went about the business
Of the season, conversing quietly,
Dying by degrees, and mostly
Confident of resurrection.
The sky, silvery and shimmering
Broke into shards, as the dog
Stepped on cracking pond ice, snapping
Happily at frozen water.
Fractured images splintered into light.
We stood and drank the moment,
As the woods waited for us
To leave them in peace.
____________________________________________________