Wet feet as I walk

I walk in summer fields

Through shadowy patches still clinging to the dawn’s dew

Gently it bathes my naked toes as I brush through the tall, soft grass

Sharp, cool water, quickly warms on my skin and I lose sensation of it

 

A grass seed sticks under my foot

 

Warm sun now fully alive in the North and I am bathed in summer

Yet still the dew clings and the denuded path is soft underfoot

Morning light is hours old by now, I’m really late to this meeting

Curlews call in the breezy, blue sky

 

An unseen nettle stings my ankle

 

How strange, I’m usually so careful to move like a dancer around them

A rabbit comes towards us

Not seen by him, we watch his effortless jumps

Ears erect, body so comfortable

How rare to see a wild animal at peace in its own world

Accidental, unavoidable fear follows me usually

I’ve not thought of this before

 

I leave no trace of my passing