My first day unencumbered
in weeks. Having Cloud Acre’s
million willow maze all to myself
after radical middle politicking up in
Telluride. Warm jacket weather
Walking Simba, Mary’s rescue dog
she gifted us – a tough little Chow
who loves to run free. But
in irrigated cattle & sheep fields
dogs at large don’t live long
Above us the trimmed cuticle of
a moon barely visible in the west
I’m tending to her leash
from our barrow ditch path
drinking in all there is to think
when she smells something
across the blacktop & lunges
onto the county road just
as a speeding pickup races
over the hill. It’s all I can do
to dig my feet in & tug her
back to safety. Giving thanks
for saving Simba, for memories of
Mary, for a blue sky Colorado day
& for all those on the Team
in this tug-of-war world
