I slept in the valley
shivering, neck sore
from carrying a dead tree
across my shoulders
I needed the wood
but more
I needed the pain
Raccoon wind
shudders brittle leaves
as when you get a sudden chill
and they say:
"someone has just walked
across your grave"
Twig snaps –
& I burrow deeper
wishing I had brought
that wool blanket
glad, almost,
that I didn't
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Marc Beaudin is a poet, playwright, director, designer, editor and bookseller. His poetry has been published in various journals and collected in several chapbooks as well as the full-length The Moon Cracks Open: A Field Guide to the Birds and Other Poems. A handful of his plays have been produced in various venues. He has directed and/or designed over 30 plays. Originally from Michigan, he now lives in Livingston, Montana, where he is co-owner of Elk River Books, edits poetry for CounterPunch and performs with Remington Streamliner. Select audio of his poetry in performance can be found on his ReverbNation page.
"Wool Blanket" was published in his 2015 book Vagabond Song: Neo-Haibun from the Peregrine Journals.