A single tremor like a bell
That Friday, we watched the elk
cross the valley below us.
Down the road, the orange truck
rumbled from beneath the carport
where a single lightbulb hung
suspended in a thin pool of yellow.
The elk flowed around the elbow
of the fence in a cinnamon river
their white markings like letters
in some foreign alphabet.
How could we know the single
tremor that followed them
was a death knell?
All of it to disappear ~
subtle powerful imagery. beautiful, oppressive
Thank you!
Fantastic use of the prompt! You had me feeling worried for the elk! These lines are magical:
‘The elk flowed around the elbow
of the fence in a cinnamon river
their white markings like letters
in some foreign alphabet.’
Gorgeous!