you

You

I want to see

the eyes that have already seen me

and not die

in this night dark forest.

the wind through the trees,

the cessation of the wind through the trees,

every unseen sound,

you

may be here now:

cougar, mountain lion,

deer tiger, puma,

you.

I move

under boughs

in your hunting grounds.

move shadows with my light

and follow perhaps

to the moment

I see you.

see your eyes

as you see mine.

wild strength

patient hunger—

a ready presence

in the mist.

I want to tell this

to my son, my daughter,

a dear friend,

the woman I may grow old with,

you.

02/10/2023 for Serena Oliveira