Learning to Cross-Country Ski on Casper Mountain, Wyoming

We assemble in a vertical line

on a very cold winter solstice

with the sun weirdly low in the sky

as we clip on our skis for the first

time ever to go gliding down a slanting

valley lined with pines, and as we gain

momentum, our instructor shows us how

to drag our ski poles between our legs

turning us into a flock of

hunched over chickadee chicks

slinking along the powder snow and leaving

behind a set of glistening parallel

tracks all the while staring

respectfully at mule deer watching

us from behind some snowy bushes now

darkening in an even lower sun.