Bear in Mind

Bear in Mind

It's dangerous to forget the place
the bear calls home, or from what hill
the wolf howls.

It's rain that makes you worry
over what's lost, but ice that brings
the shudder of certainty.

Who has not seen the pilgrims
trampled, the faithful fallen
before the dogs of doubt

or learned too late how cleanly
the metallic blade of logic cuts
through a lifetime of misconception?

One day you're contemplating
shades of gray and the next,
it's ashes to ashes.

One day you hear a tapping
in the attic, and the next
the thunder of hooves.

The dripping faucet augurs
the flood, the broken connection
a world of gaps and lapses.

If the gull cries thrice, can grief
be far behind?