11pm on Friday February 19th 2010

[Laura]

Bewildered geese honk
A family of coyotes
Walk on ice with ease

A midnight stroll lead me to a rabbit's world. Carelessly they hop and jump in the newly fallen snow. Their eyes shine bright with wonder reflecting the moon's splendor. After we pass the rabbits we get to where the geese sleep. How different the world is in the night, for in the morning each goose chatters with excitement, their noise fills the air so that I can not even hear my own tired breathing. But in the night, tonight, they sleep without a peep. Huddled close in the spot where the ice gives mercy to the geese and the ducks. They hear us approach and with horse throats start to warn the others. My heart sinks and I feel sorrow to have woken them so rudely. But then I see a stealthy family of coyotes and think how lucky we first woke them as a warning of the real danger. The coyotes trot from land to ice without a slip or stumble. I count five of them (perhaps: a father, a mother and three grown children). I say a prayer for the geese and continue my own path. As I near home I encounter them again. I shout, and my dog whines. They walk towards us, without any fear of us they stare and stop. I chose a different route, and give thanks I am not a goose.