all alone in no uncertain terms
in the early hours the grass was frosted over
from a thin layer of overnight snow
but by afternoon everything turned green again
it was a long and dark morning
eventually brightened by a weak december sun
we found ourselves either walking arm in arm
or standing hand in hand
speaking seldomly and listening to birds chattering
women young and old praying and weeping
their breathing variable and visible
a runaway child laughing and hopping through the field
like a puppy dog chasing a butterfly
by midday the gathering suddenly dispersed
and we found ourselves back where we started
retracing our footprints and our thoughts
all alone in no uncertain terms
february two thousand twenty
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