I cannot capture in a photo
the doe crossing the river
at dusk—
one step,
another,
another,
dark water touching her underside;
slender legs,
delicate hoofs
finding the rocks and mud below.
No, I cannot capture the doe,
so instead I want to be
on the far side of the river
when she reaches it—
to stroke her soaked fur, the silk
of her ears, her exquisite
neck. I want
to warm-nuzzle her forehead,
my face
to her face,
to know what she knows
about river
about winter
and dusk—
what to take over, crossing;
what to leave behind.
Laura Apol is a poet and professor at Michigan State University. An award-winning author of five full-length collections of poetry (most recently, “A Fine Yellow Dust,” published by the MSU Press in 2021), she served as the Lansing-area poet laureate from 2019 to 2021.
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