she awoke after dreaming that night
of a man she had never met
the soft skin of her bones
and his/a heart/flailing beard and vines
she wondered if it could be a visit from the green man
a man of mythologies and mystery
a man waking her into some unpronounceable future
or perhaps
it was a numinous woodwose
beckoning her into the deepest parts of autumn
the deepest parts of her body
into her own wild season
either way, the wind became chilled, a mountain's out-breath
she could see doorways, portals, between the trees
inviting nooks, and small branch huts
she could sense the animals
she could smell the warmth of their pelts as they gathered in
she wandered, but not long
as she no longer felt directionless
her toes in the clean, warm earth
