Etchings

Prickly thicket ambush,
serpentine complexity,
sinuous collection
of briary vines
seeks the light
and steals the path
the hasty and the foolish trod,
each season thicker, higher,
above abandoned thorns,
forgotten blood.

Winter erases ivory slate
to clear a bloodless sky
above the path well worn
from relentless, stubborn use.