Soft Animal

We were cloaked in the awning
Of night or early morning
Through the headboard there’s a flicker of light
And light warning
Sophie’s on the bunk overhead reading Mary Oliver
While I lay still in my bed

That’s when I see you there

Fawn doe, light snow
Make me feel alive
Make me believe that all my selves align
Fawn, doe, light snow
Spots on brown of white
Make me believe that it is all alright

Your soft face pressed to the wilt
First spring sunrise
Standing low on quivering stilts
In attempting to keep you to stay
I am raising no alarm
It is just us two alone

Then I feel a sigh of wind, your raising eyes
A rolling fog that lets you hide
And I can hear the rustling as you go
Oh, go slow

Fawn, doe, light snow
Make me feel alive
Make me believe that I don’t have to die
Fawn, doe, light snow
Spots on brown of white
Make me believe that there’s a God sometimes

The ring around your mother's heart
Grows saccharine then falls apart
And I can hear the rustling as you go

You camouflaged or clearly seen
And nameless in the in-between
And I can hear the rustling as you go

The firing of rifles off
The echo hits you hard enough
And I can hear the rustling as you go

A soft and skittish self inside
Shines golden, opal, chrysolite
And I can feel the rustling as you go

Oh, go slow

A mob of voices harmonize
And tell me that you're not alive
But I can feel the rustling as you go