Mule deer exchanging deep looks
near the iced creek;
rabbits in their dumb brown line
kicking, bucking up
shivered green shards;
eagles’ beaks glinting, registering
wayward moons.
The mountain’s stones, ochered,
faces flat to cold-dogged sun—
stones talking to the wind,
voices low and obstinate.
In the house, someone lays a fire;
another lights the cookstove.
The curtains close themselves
against the weighted, willful winter.
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BERTHA ROGERS’ POEMS HAVE BEEN published in literary magazines and journals. Her most recent poetry collection, Heart Turned Back, was published by Salmon Poetry, Ireland. Her translation of the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf was published in 2000; and her translation of the Anglo-Saxon Riddle-Poems, Uncommon Creatures, Singing Things, is forthcoming. She founded and directs Bright Hill Press & Literary Center in NY’s Catskill Mountain Region.
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