To Know Peace


It is to walk the dog in the morning silence
on the first day of a new year
when diamonds sparkle on the lawns
as we pass by, and I breathe out clouds
small but white with every exhalation.

Overhead jetliners quietly draw
white lines on blue canvas sky
and the air up there is so still
the crosshatched trails linger
in the passage of the silver jets.

The soft winter morning sun
bathes my upturned face
as I trail the dog whose downturned nose
draws wet lines on the sidewalk
on his jaunt to check what has passed
in the night while he slept.

The crow caws, the robin tweets,
the little finches peep peep peep
as the dog canters beneath the trees
bare of leaves but ripe with berries
and I see the birds, salute them, listening
to their morning quest.

You kissed me this morning very early
when you left, the dog and I
curled in bed before the sunrise
and I heard you say I love you
as you moved away. It is always
so, loving, leaving, coming home.
The leashes are invisible, but resolute.