USA

mkrauter@hamilton.net

Ironed by the Sun


Once and for all,
she will decide if life is cruel or loving.
She will say or not that people are as holy
as the slim-bodied coyote whose belly
tells time, who captures a rabbit, devours
it and all is right and innocent.

Before winter comes, before she decides
life's character, she must take note of the animals
and learn what must be gathered for the winter--
air for breath, cleansing water, food and fire.
She will heed the rules of survival, begin
to listen to what she has forgotten
as when her gut affirms intuition over reason.

And in the midst of the cruel winter, she'll open
a book, it's pages heavy with words, and see
the delicate flower, its folds ironed to perfection
by last summer's sun, picked, possessed.
She will recognize separation pain like dog
has experienced since domestication,
and once and for all, know that life
is lovingly cruel.

© Copyright 2001, Mary Jackson Krauter.
All Rights Reserved. Printed By Permission.