<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class="">Border Line</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class="">Acorn woodpeckers gather in </div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class="">early morning on the bare-limbed oak</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class="">calling <i class="">Jacob, Jacob, Jacob… </i></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class="">But first comes the sparrow hopping </div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class="">through the grass, Queen Anne’s lace hangs </div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class="">in the air as I step toward the sloping bushes </div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class="">to pluck blackberries—</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class="">a bowl of stillness and stealth—</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class="">while below, a doe with her young </div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class="">dips and crosses over our neighbor’s line—</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class="">no questions asked.</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Raphael Block</div></div></body></html>