(for Christine)
Clunky, too big to be adroit in any gesture, too fond
of showing his red ass—yet
with his bristling ears, he’s the one who knows the way
to the upper heaven and the under-earth…
And so he led us
to the tree at the forest’s center, looking up
to find the great round-ringed eye that lives
always on springy heights, and sees in darkness—
guardian who peers out when no one’s looking,
cousin to cats or who knows what, before
our world.
© Alan Williamson