Snake River Morning–Susan Marsh

Snake River Morning–Susan Marsh

Light shifts along a snowfield
Dawn stirs, blue under the pines
Bugling elk and laughing ravens and the
Slow somber call of an owl

Silence at the river
Before the geese and cranes
Rise in a cacophony of wings, their voices
Raining down among bare branches

Shelter behind a driftwood log:
Rain polishes cobbles at the water
Elk and ravens shelter in the shadows
O sweet small cup of sand.