Afterworld

Starlight goes on, resolute. Dawn
Breaks the ridge. What could not be found
Is now everywhere. The mare,

The ragged slope, birds. A man rises from sleep, wonders
How he is neccessary. Not one cow
Is missing. The herd waits by river's edge,

Their flanks luminous with morning; a sullen line
Of coyote-track finishes at the water. Closed
Are the eyes of horses; between their lips the crowns
Of thistle. Ridge by ridge, day congregates

As valley by valley, each man tends the last
Of his fire. As a tree grows at the gate, hardens
Around wire, as birds, ancient with intention,
Return to sing upon their branches.

Copyright © 2005 Sophie Cabot Black All rights reserved
from Vallum
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission