we walk briskly
down wide leaf lined streets
my canine friend and i alive together
content beneath a rising november moon

panting and click of thick toenails
soft steady clomp of boot heels

all of the commuters have settled in
it is just the two of us now walking
alongside lawns where first snowfall
recently receded without a sound

only silence remains briefly punctuated
by our movement the chill clarity
of departing breath our quiet passing
beneath arching trees yearning skyward

listening and sniffing the still air
our muscles filled with joyful blood
we find more distant stars are joining
& that everything arrives as darkness descends

©John Greenleaf-Maple – text and art 20181115