the ocean –
a shallow stream merging
without sound

gloomy morning –
a worm follows an oil slick
down the gutter

foghorn
       the slow roll of a fish
              on the line

morning frost
     stutter
of the rooster

mourning –
a piece of birchbark
peels

gulls far off
in the twilight calm . . .
lock waters fall

a skipping stone
strikes the moored sailboat . . .
autumn drizzle

talk of war –
my toddler points at swells
before they break

cold mountain shadow
the slow drip of a spring
into sunlight

the first flakes of snow
drifting down on the wetlands
Canada geese