An insistent bark

beside my bed

no longer ignored.

Clothes thrown on,

stumbling out.

Cold air on

sleepy cheeks,

moon through

bare trees,

sun behind

a bank of clouds,

cedar tree

across the path,

the sound

of rushing water.

One lone goose

flies overhead.

Daffodils pushing up,

tender green grass,

woodpecker’s

rat-a-tat-tat,

a dove’s

coo, coo, coo,

distant roar

of a truck.

A green bench

at water’s edge.

A pair of mallards

leap and skid

across the pond

at our approach.

Beginning in the dark,

ending in the light.