Surviving the Fog by M.J. Iuppa

What if I were to wake before the wild

turkey that roosts in the sycamore?

Would I look through dawn’s icy haze

to study her slowness to stand, shaking

the cold off feathers & stretching her

neck into that moment of flight—?

A conscious choice— to sail on-

to the snow-covered yard where

no bird or animal has left tracks

to the stillness of woods or orchard

with its toppled trees. I see wind

inside fog, whispering that it’s hard

to be pinned down to a semi-colon

of weather, which becomes another

choice, as it begins to snow.

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M.J. Iuppa’s fourth poetry collection is This Thirst (Kelsay Books, 2017). For the past 32 years, she has lived on a small farm near the shores of Lake Ontario. Check out her blog: mjiuppa.blogspot.com for her musings on writing, sustainability & life’s stew.