Again

New snow falls gentle as a wish
Snow covers sallow earth
white on white on white

We walk out of the house
cold and young again
as if we know nothing

Today there are
no shadows breaking
the surface 

only the cloven-hoofed
tracks of a small herd
of white-tailed deer

Hoof prints strewn  
halved like broken hearts
circling white pines

Red maples have cast off bud scales
in last week’s thaw
crimson stars fallen on snow

We woke up old one morning
my husband and I
Now we stand in the middle 

of a pasture
faces upturned and naked
young again