Cardinal - Kristin Howe

wander to the high chasm

to where you hear it floating

to where the great river border moves

where winter is washing the old forest’s burned patchwork

and the moss is still grieving, even as it is freezing

follow it

that sound

to where it is dark and bright and silent

where it is so open that there is no echo

where the shadows are as harsh as the sun

and the ancient walls face each other, stoic as mirrors

go ahead

run to that wide sky channel

to where it is blank and still and quiet

where there is nothing above the water plain

that space between states where there is only fog

and all the world, a single color

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Kristin Howe (she/her) is a writer, artist, hiker, biker, and fair-weather runner living in Portland, Oregon with her dog, Willow.