By Gabriel Hartley
Swans flying south for winter
typical V cast overhead
this morning sky
Each bird point of this wedge
stitches itself through me
sutured skin encompassing earth and sky
Woven into swan pattern
I embrace these filaments of flown tissue
Breathe in and out the honking of seasonal birds
Needlepoint pattern of intimacy
enfleshed sphere of connection
swirl of constancy and wholeness
My body fills out the backdrop
furled in morning mist and dew-tipped grass
my face reflected in pools of mud at dawn
Breath cloud steam
fused with sky cloud pink of sun streak
the ether of feather-flown heart flame
Pulse and pungent pulp display
the calendar of communion
flown south to greet the fiery day
Fiskars, 11 November 2021
