Cantare: Camping near the Platte River in November

Jeff Burt

no wondrous silence here
where Sandhill Cranes sojourn,
sleepy pre-dawn lit
by sing, cry, squeal, and crow,
brew, bawl, bray and bleat,
moo, bark, mourn, sigh,
plainsong limestone
terrain plains speech,
woo, grunt, huff and puff,
prayer pause, jaw and harp,
stream spring churn, ripple,
knuckle-rap, sap-spludge,
knee-crack, face-slap,
thigh-scratch, denim-scritch,
belt slap, buckle slip,
cinch, pinch, hawk-kik,
hen-peent, caw-caw,
wing-thud, flip-flap,
awkward cranes of praise
lifting skyward from my lips