Soft Animal

We were cloaked in the awning of night or early morning
Through the headboard there's a flicker of light and light warning
Sophie's on the bunk overhead reading Mary Oliver
While I lay still in my bed
That's when I see you there
Fawn, doe, light snow
Make me feel alive
Make me believe that all my selves align
Fawn, doe, light snow
Spots on brown of white
Make me believe that it is all a lie
Your soft face pressed to the wilt
Of first spring sunrise
Standing low on quivering stilts
In attempting to keep you to stay
I am raising no alarm
It is just us two alone
Then I feel a sigh of wind, your raising eyes
The rolling fog that lets you hide
And I can hear the rustling as you go
Oh, go slow
Fawn, doe, light snow
Make me feel alive
Make me believe that I don't have to die
Fawn, doe, light snow
Spots on brown of white
Make me believe that there's a God sometimes
The ring around your mothers heart
Grows saccharine then falls apart
And I can hear the rustling as you go
You camouflaged, but clearly seen
And nameless in the in-between
And I can hear the rustling as you go
The firing of rifles off
The echo hits you hard enough
And I can hear the rustling as you go
A soft and skittish self inside
Shines golden, opal, chrysolite
And I can feel the rustling as you go
Oh, go slow
A mob of voices harmonize
And tell me that you're not alive
But I can feel the rustling as you go