A Morning Walk

There are no words for this summer morning,

with sunlight shafting through the silent woods.

There are no words for the snapping turtle

who has made a long journey up from the pond

to dig a small hole and lay her eggs in our side yard.

There are no words for the red-tail fox who stops a moment

and looks right at you as he crosses the path, his tail as long as his body.

There are no words for the elephant-eared leaves of the burdock.

For the buttercups and ferns.

For the straight-stemmed Daylily poised with pregnant buds.

There are no words for standing still and listening to the woodpecker as he hammers away on a dead tree.

And the crows, always the crows.

Listening.

You are listening.

There are no words for happiness.

-Lincolnville, ME 6/25