I imagine this midnight moment's forest:

Something else is alive

Beside the clock's loneliness

And this blank page where my fingers move.

~ Excerpt from The Thought-Fox, by Ted Hughes

And did I use my imagination?

I was an apple. I spread my seeds.

And did I play?

In the pool, with a Wave, after school, in the cold water. We tested gravity. What floats? Who sinks? We float.

And did I listen––really listen?

The Ukrainian group is alive and growing. We ate apples by a crackling fire.

And did I rest?

I stayed busy.

And did I notice something beautiful?

The river. Changing of the leaves. Spirals sent out on the water by a very big fish who jumped. Always, every day, in the same spot, jumps, sends out the spirals.

And did I say yes when I meant no?

No.

And did I say no when I meant yes?

Not today.

And did I nourish?

I covered her with a blanket when she needed a nap, as mothers often do. Shut the door. Let her rest.