The Smoke Through the Trees


When you call out to me
             With your whimpers and your willful whines
             Your cries of hopefulness and plea
             It is music drifting through the sky

When you cry out
             Lonely, abandoned
             Missing those who were once there
             Filling our dreary world with sapphires and emeralds

With subtle movements
             I know your unasked questions
             I guide you
             As much as you guide me

Apart, we are a willful force
             Together, we are accomplished and proud
             A team that communicates through silence
             Strong, powerful, cunning

That is why
             When you run for me, gasping at thin air
             Paws only touching the ground for a fleeting moment
             Never quite reaching me
             As you are swept away by death' s icy fingers

You are truly dazzling
             Like a wisp of smoke through the trees



by Jessica Tucker


BARKS Poetry Contest winner