That Kind of a Day

A kitten plays with a mouse,
the wind plays with the leaves.
(I see the sparrow’s mate
rumpling her nest in the eaves.)

The cock on the weathervane
in the brisk air checks and swings.
(It was on this kind of day
she gave up the world of things.)

The grass lies stiff in frost
(her mouth lay soft on mine).
I answer a neighbor’s salute,
I travel my boundary line.

(As dry as a locust’s shell
and empty the heart that grieves.)
A kitten plays with a mouse,
the wind plays with the leaves.