kellyshepherd.com

Big Lake:
clouds pause over their reflections

roads rise up to meet me:
cottonwoods after rain

soft thud of hooves,
quiet chewing of grass
- deer outside the tent again

the buzzing of flies,
the swish of horses’ tails in the sun
- morning coffee

gunshot across the lake:
the sound breaks apart on the hills

heart pounding
- the loneliness of this tent -
horses galloping in the dark

loons and cranes both calling
across the fields, across the water:
why bother with poems?

flashlight:
shadow of my hand writing
on the tent wall

sun goes down -
flashlight moves on the walls
with my breathing

sunburn today – no hat
just the sky
the color of her eyes

where is the moon?
where are you?
all this rain

two deer grazing in the long, wet grass;
I’m making coffee from rainwater

a horse snorts
a frog croaks
and the night bursts out in stars

loon moans a long, lonely blues
over the lake
- it’s not morning yet

Text and photos (May and June 2008, Big Lake, British Columbia) © Kelly Shepherd

truck tracks in the grass
silvered by the rain

earthy smell of grass,
grassy smell of earth
- pinpricks of rain sounding on the tent

workman whistles across the field
- evening breeze through my tent

cranes call in the distance
we put down hammers and shovels to listen

last night’s rain waits in the dandelions:
damp workboots

raindrops on the tent
tired eyes close easier

tangles of thoughts:
her breathing

yesterday the grass wasn’t this tall
- today there are spider webs

mule deer and sandhill crane
pass one another at forest’s edge:
what greetings?

swollen clouds tumbling over the hills,
sun and wind vie for position

barn swallow so close
its blue back glints in the afternoon sun
- then gone again

Text and photos (May and June 2008, Big Lake, British Columbia) © Kelly Shepherd