we need to pay attention.
so much happens
six miles beneath
our houses
fragile as eggs
with thin shells
balanced on
a teetering shelf
nothing is certain.
even toads know
where we stand
is not solid
amphibians taste the shudder
of tectonic plates
on their skin, the stress
& fracture of deep rock
before it slips across
crystal heated under pressure
snakes leave their holes
in winter & fish rise
days before the hard break
& visceral grind of stone meeting stone;
they are intimate
& close to internal shifts
sensing quickening
the way a mother knows
butterfly dancing
under her navel
before any kicking can be felt
on her skin
there is life
there are movements
underground
as subtle
on our long legs
with heads balanced
on these necks,
our ears tuned to the air
not pressed to the soil, listening
we need needles
jumping across paper
to tell us
what fish already know.
we need to listen deeper.
Susan Daniels Poetry 