We slipped
away one night
when summer scents
filled ditch pockets
where the road dipped
through patchy fog. Our bike
was a whisper instead of a holler
and near Cheboygan, a mountain
lion leapt, missed or changed
its fickle mind. Fate, you said
had passed nearby, an omen
we should live a little closer
to the edge of the risks
we take in our lives.
In Tahquamenon
you tossed like the river
and fell forever
into my arms.
.
Richard Rensberry, author at QuickTurtle Books®

From HeartWood to be published December 2016