Daybreak mist. Morning punctures indigo cloud-wash a lonesome shade of yellow. Snow-dust magnetized. Cobalt. Sapphire. Lemon. Wolf prints track lake’s edge. Ice canvas. String of whitetail walk on dainty hooves. Antlered. Hazelnut fur, noses wet & black, soft white underbellies. In the middle, on the frozen sheet of water, they form a circle. Pine boughs. Coffee the color of manure. Ridgeline evaporates at craggy lip where sky melts into granite. Icicle knives. To the east, an old woman opens her palms. Onyx fingers / raven feathers, and the bird soars aloft. In her eyes, brush fires. Nectarine embers rise into magenta sky, mate with stars. Plywood structures. Teepee canvas. Cedar poles. Gasoline and a match. Camp of memories set ablaze. Floodwater ghosts. An entire village stands watching. Humvees. Mud. Police in riot gear. American flag upside down ripples with the might of a salmon. Another cold front rolling in. Through the window, blur of red mesa / red dirt / amber. Bushy tail to keep warm by. Flash of red fox crossing quartz terrain. To the west, a fawn.
