Last night I. and I walked out into the pines to visit
the Witches Broom. I. is not me. The Witches Broom is
not a human device for sweeping away clutter; nor a
means for flight.
The sun had dropped behind the trees. The light was
gray-green. We came upon a scattering of bones: a
spinal column arced like the path of a meteor; a
delicate pelvis; slender tibia---and two paws. We
could tell from the nails and dewclaws that the paws
were those of a canid. The fur dark brown. Weather
had done its work.
There was skin on one paw; the other had been taken
down to bone. Neither of us had ever seen a skeletal
structure like the one connecting to the toes. There
were four slender bones side by side.
Later I googled fox skeleton. I found a site with
bones much like our find. There was a link to a
different site. I clicked it and this appeared:
I am the swift fox,
I live in uncertainty
If there is anything difficult
If there is anything dangerous to do
That is mine
---Sioux Swift Fox Society song
I thought of all of us. No one is shooting at us or
bombing our homes, but difficulty is difficulty;
danger is danger; and uncertainty carries us toward
what is ours.
blessed be
