Frozen Image - v4 - Poem by Raymond A. Foss

Down the path
Away from the road,
Bustle of the highway
In the inner quiet
Cold of winter
Emptiness, sadness,
In my heart

Turn inside
Recalling a sudden scene
Standing, transformed
Away from view
Out in the open

Catch of air – shortness of breath
Loss of warmth
Crunch of snow
Snap of branch
Startled revelation
Facing the reality
Of this moment

A burst of downy wings
Shards, detritus, clutter
Festooned the ground
A vole track
Ended abruptly
A smudge of red

A remembered echo, residue
Of the event
The tree fallen in the wood
With or without sound
No human witnesses
But there, on the ground

Cardboard boxes,
Phone calls, without responding
Left belongings
Of rapid parting
And decisions made

Death frozen in place
Serenely, as it should be
With swallowed feelings
Compartmentalized

Impressions
Catches of light and shadow
The beat of predator feathers
Pressed
Thrust into the crust
Preserved, as in paraffin

Cataloged and filed away
Without emotion
Words and unfilled promises,
Archived, haunting
Mocking

Arc of
Feathers
Captured in the coating –
Fingers,
Hands scooping
A pile of leaves
For bagging

Holding themselves
In the hug of the
Invisible wings
Alone

Frozen image
Fleeting, under melting
Life and death
Lost in time
Transformed by internalizing
The image, years old
A metaphor for today

Brooding
Ponderous steps, footprints
Of the road
Down the path
I must take

Alone
After the dying
Sudden
But inevitable
Nonetheless