Tree Moon Fox

Chilled to their inner rings
they wait for spring,
     intimate winter trees, their
     unadorned birches, bare,
skeletal white trunks shining, chilled
from icy winds and frost-rilled.

Under cover of night,
there is white
     noise, rustle of leaves
     and distant hum of tyre on tarmac.
Overhead the sky sparkles, incandescent
with a multitude of stars, distant
and countless.

Lying on her back, the full-bellied moon
smiles enigmatically, a seasonal
     pause
reflected in the eyes of a startled fox.

Kim M. Russell, 20th May 2025

Image by Corentin Tourrette on Unsplash

This week’s Tuesday Poetics at the dVerse Poets Pub is hosted by Lisa, with some intimate moments. She says that “most of us have experienced intimate moments with partners and/or small precious moments with parents, offspring, and good friends – or even strangers,” or even with trees.” 

She goes on to tell us that “some philosophers say there is no view without a viewer. Intimacy demands we put ourselves into the scene in some way, if only to document the experience through our own witnessing.”  I agree with Lisa, that that’s what poetry is all about, and she has given us a lovely example, ‘Intimate Detail’ by Heid E. Erdrich.

Our challenge is to consider magical moments of intimacy we’ve experienced, choose one and write a poem about it, or even imagine a moment in the future and what it would look like.

28 thoughts on “Tree Moon Fox”

  2. Kim, your total commune with nature is so beautiful to read. I felt, heard, and saw every bit of it, the cool bark of the birch, the sound of traffic, the full belly moon, and the startled fox ❤

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  9. O you’ve caught such a moment here, fleeting, transcendent, everyday and pure. Who doesn’t feel welcomed by such an intimate touch? Theres a fox that’s been evicted from one of the few remaining forest patches close to town thanks to recent development, and I’ve seen him/her wandering lonely and estranged our streets early mornings when I walk. Such a sadder encounter than yours.

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  10. The change from rhyme to unrhymed makes me curious. It’s a little disconcerting for me as I mostly use and enjoy rhyme. All the stanzas work in their way and I’m wondering if the change was intentional and what it might mean?

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  12. Nature and all it encompasses is when your poetry is the very best [in my humble opinion] and this is certainly no exception. Your moment in time was intimate and quite special.

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  13. I cannot help but think you witnessed this all…impeccable, I like very much how you swiped the lazy contentment away by putting it all from the perspective of the fox, at least for me….and then it is even more clear…that fox definitely hears the car tyre, notices every single little thing. …

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