The Island

The island

The berries ripened

and then dropped

one by one into the water,

nobody saw them fall,

nobody saw the great carp

silently rising to greet them.

The empty windows

of the cabin looked on,

the mice made nests in the rugs,

the snow came, the lake froze over,

and the rusting tins in the cupboards

settled in for yet another year,

waiting for the children to return

waiting for the woods

to fill with laughter again.