How many miles
did you have to go? Did you
get back when it was still
dark? And after bringing
the horse to the barn and wading
through deep snow to the farmhouse
did you find yourself
alone again with no one awake
and the fire in the woodstove
turned to ash? Did you
climb the stairs to your room and
slip under heavy covers
to escape the darkest day
through sleep? Or did you
sit beside the window
in a wingback chair facing
the Eastern pasture
and wait for the returning light?
Mary Crosby is the author of Alluvium Stream, and Cannon Mine, published by Finishing Line Press. Her poems have appeared in Calyx, Blueline, Earth’s Daughters and Dos Passos Review, among others. She lives with her husband in the Ramapo Mountains of New Jersey and enjoys hiking the nearby trails.
