Beside the Cabin

The light that flows downslope

begins as a trickle through the grasses

up where the hill crests

and gathers momentum

on rocks jutting

from the clearing the deer

use to stop and look back

from their climb

as it washes away

odors left by animals

who passed through in the night

before it breaks into patches

that ripple along

the ground between junipers

then shift in direction

where they run

down

to where dusk meets the road

and dissolve

in the hour before night.