Day

Under the bending dome of day
           the gentle movement of leaf and flower
morning awaking to birdsong
           and silence and to the play of sunlight
everywhere the thrust of life
           and nature at peace with itself

a fox struts along the top
           of the perimeter wall its eyes
tracking the flight of a small bird
           a dog barks but the fox pays no heed
it sips from an ornamental basin
           and slopes off into the rest of its life

John Lyons