Fertile Earth # 2 Poem by Eric Cockrell

come, my lover,
walk with me this fertile earth!
undressing with autumnal passion....

can you hear the groan
of the leaf turning from green
to red to brown?

can you feel the stamp of the deer?
the alert fear of the squirrel
hiding on the bare branches?

can you smell the earth laid bare,
uninhibited, awaiting the cover of snow?
can you feel the hardness of this ghost ship,

preparing to sail your stormy seas?
can you taste the resin of the pine
cut down for the fire?

your mouth opens in anticipation
of the first flakes upon your tongue......
and the chair by the fire awaits in stillness

for your body curled into mine....
come, my lover....
walk with me this fertile earth!