Inside a cabin
surrounded by Sierra forest,we watch creatures
outside look at and into
the cabin. Sauntering,
nibbling grass, a doe
and two fawns stare
at us through a window.
Same goes for pine
squirrels, who leap
from tree to tree;
and for ground squirrels,
with their white
collars and flea-bedeviled
fur. And Steller's jays,
corvids with deep blue
bodies and black heads
& wild-mad-laugh cackles.
And at evening, a bear,
chief executive of the woods,
walks past, sniffing, slobbering,
almost not bothering
to look toward us.
hans ostrom 2023
