Weather changes the most familiar paths: 
Snow buries landmark stones. 
Deep puddles block the trail 
From boots and paws. 
Fallen trees bar the way. 

Today the ground  
Crumbles under my step 
And my foot is suspended 
Above the cracking path 

I’m surprised, 
But it’s not the first time 
I've stepped on a frost heave. 

For a moment I enjoy 
Pretending that the Earth is giving way, 
Opening 
And I will fall through 
And fall 
And fall  
Into an unimagined abyss.  

My eyes open. 
I'm standing on the trail 
My right foot is crooked, 
But cupped by the sustaining earth. 

Eyeing the ground. 
I seek out more frost heaves, 
Step on them lightly 
To feel the crust breaking 

Reliving the perilous moment 
When everything below fell away.