Beetles and microbes are all the company
that we shall have for our animal decomposition.
Fallen, rotting logs transform,
populated and adorned with lichens,
endlessly varied in shape and color
and texture, from delicate lacework
to the hard shelves that jut off trees.
The trees reveal more undressed’
as they shall stay for several weeks more,
the mountains and the sky.
And the line of little badges
that demark our new neighbor.