Encounter with the Wild

As we walk out in blooming Sunday

heavy with azaleas, dogwoods, and wisteria,

the vaulted sky looms purplish-blue

like a backdrop behind our neighbor’s house.

Down along the marsh a hawk

skims the tops of palm trees

then circles back with its eyes

fixed on our five-pound toy poodle.

Marsh hens send their clackety alarm

reverberating through the tall grass

like sonar to mark our human path.

We return for breakfast before the rain.

From the author:

At FGC Gathering, I took the “Sustainability Spectrum” workshop led by QEW and was inspired to send this poem for possible publication in BeFriending Creation. My poetry has been published in Friends Journal, Appalachian Journal, and other magazines and read by Garrison Keillor on NPR’s Writer’s Almanac.

I am a member of Savannah Monthly Meeting and of Southeastern Yearly Meeting’s Earthcare Committee.