Air moist and still,

muggy and unmoving

life seeming to follow

solitary doe eating sweet grass

ears up, attention focused

yet quiet and alone

young rabbits braving the meadow

watching for unwanted attention

scampering into shelter with a shadow

or crunch on the trail

birds not talking, but present

flitting into and out of thickets

sharing the air with their young

but keeping it low, preserving the quiet

as if waiting for something, anything

to start the world again,

creating a respite from the silence