Yellowstone

                              

Yellowstone

Cold

A deep cold 

A cold like 

She could never remember 

A cold that hurt

Made her tendons tighten 

Even her thick coat 

Couldn’t keep it at bay

Her breath ....

Each pant a puff of fog 

Rising up in a cloud 

Glowing in the Moonlight 

She exhaled 

Each nostril 

Softly snorting 

Ice crystals 

Suspended for a moment 

Then floating 

Dancing...Glistening

Hovering on the night breeze

The stars

Were sharp needlepoints 

Pinpricks 

On her gold rimmed pupils

Her black eyes     

Traced one shooting

A lingering streak

Seared on her retina

They danced

Millions of them

Fading slightly

As on the horizon 

A huge full Moon 

Slowly rising 

The first slivers showing

Washing out the starlight 

Like a huge sea creature

It’s humped back

Glowing yellow white

Rising from the depths

It seemed to engulf 

Half the horizon

Slowly surfacing 

Awaking from its slumber

Magnified 

By the atmosphere  

The dry night air 

Allowing every detail 

Her sharp eyes

Could see the shadows

Casting sharp edges

Across its valleys

It’s craggy Mountains 

And pitted landscape 

Spoke to her

Like braille to the blind

Were there any 

Any of her kind up there

Perhaps perched high 

On a jagged mountaintop

Looking back at her

Howling at their Moon

But then she realized 

That was not possible

For a brief moment 

She’d forgotten

Forgotten about her venture

Her venture to the other side

Her forays 

Into the world of Man

As she slipped 

In and out of her skin

That Moon 

Had always been there

For as long as she could remember

And her memory was ancient

It had watched her 

The numerous leaps 

Across species

Across time

She was Laika

This is where 

She belonged

Yellowstone 

John Snelling

11:30:19

#66