Witness

O clear winter night! A red deer steps out of the forest. She stands in a pool of blue light and watches the lake freeze. The golden angel of the western sky beats her vast wings slowly. Her crystal tears fall into the same lake the deer watches. I come to the shore of the lake. I give it a name: Lake of the Yellow Moon. I take the place into my memory. The deer turns her head, slowly bites a leaf from an ash and chews it deliberately. Above me the angel hovers over the freezing lake. Beside me the deer stands at the water's edge. There is no wind. There is no ripple. I will wait here as long as the deer and the angel.