listening closer

©2023 michael raven

i hear their voices
on the wind, inviting
me to come back and
listen to their words
as they gather around
the campfire in
remembrance of
having lived, all signs
& portents point
their way...

perhaps i can now
hear their words
with age, not the black
scat scratching but in
the spaces in between

unbound, i no longer
need to keep the
cattail fluff plugging
each ear, unfettered sounds
less like croaks &
now they sing...