this is a horseshoe kept by the pond
wherefore the depths familiar
suggest a source
a tender canter

darkness comes
crossed branches, trine of caw
fearless as life unspools 
to show its underpinnings
bones

what can be repaired 
rises
what cannot, 
sinks as effigy
all is marred like this
but in a golden way

…

Ulrica Hume is the author of An Uncertain Age, a novel, and House of Miracles, a collection of stories, one of which was selected by PEN and broadcast on NPR. Her work appears online, in literary journals, and in anthologies. She tweets @uhume.