Watched them struggling in deep snow,
weak, hungry.
Wanted to aid and assist
but what can I offer these magnificent animals
except my admiration and compassion
as they put one leg in front of the other
plowing onward with tracks of determination?
Move, find sustenance, rest, repeat.
I give grace and gratitude
for their modeling how to survive
the long winter.
Move, find sustenance, rest.
Repeat as needed until released
from winter’s grip.
— Aileen Holthaus
Anchorage
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