Woodland Waste
by LateNiteFantasy©
A stillness in the forest,
A pregnant moment waits.
Birds settled, quiet expectant,
A doe and buck poised to run.
Heads up, ears lifted, muscles tense,
First the faint odor defiant,
Drifts in on wisps of white fingers.
Then the crackling sound, near and far,
Leaves, dry and brittle being broken fiercely.
Flashing glimpses of red, orange and yellow,
The meniscus is shattered; life pours forth.
Noises crescendo from creatures large and small,
Now hours later blackened stumps
Steaming in a clouded afternoon rain,
Sit as silent witness to one small match.