Nosing Through the Leaves

                                 Nosing Through The Leaves        July 25th 2007

They leap over fences from a startled standstill
They test the air, looking for the deer way through
They flick their ears, raising and lowering their heads
They stamp delicately
Hoof by sharp hoof
Browsing through the brambles and the roses
The eating, almost absent minded
The scanning, fully intent

We march down the road flatfooted
Or jog absurdly
Or run with martial purpose, as if we were going somewhere
Ears plugged into frozen rhythms on CD
Attuned not to our surround.

They are listening:
To birds and trees; Vibration of the ground; To faraway streams of stars

We wear shoes and big hats and sunglasses.

Dogs trot down the road
Nose to the business of discernment
Ears flicking, heads raising and lowering
Listening to birds and trees
Tasting the air where the deer were
Deciphering vibrations of life and death ground
Present
Looking for what is all around.

We act as if we are apart from the natural order living in some suspended limbo
Dissociated eternally from our present
A discordance marching down the road, surprised by every perceived intrusion
Acting as if our will is the only force in the world
Ignorant of our footprints, our odor, our resonance and tones

--How long blind, deaf, and dumb
To our surround
To our gifting?                                © Sidney Barthell