Before morning's mist disappears I slip my arms through straps
of a new daypack, walk across a smooth stone shelf, and climb
a hill with one thought in mind, stumble into a patch of bramble.

By 60 BCE an "elixir of immortality" was being ingested
by China's elites. Instead of prolonging life, substances,
including cinnabar, the soft red ore from which mercury
was derived, usually proved fatal.

A rabbit stands in the road, with oversized ears
tracking footfalls stealthily approaching. Green
plants embrace, while gray hermetic stands go
unnoticed in midst
of top-
pling
over.