'Fear has softened'

”So often, so long I have thought of death
That the fear has softened. It has worn away.
Strange. Here in autumn again, late October,
I am late too, my woodshed still half empty,
And hurriedly I split these blocks in the rain,
Maple and beech….”

— From “Song: So Often , So Long Have I Thought,’’ by Hayden Carruth (1921-2008), native of Connecticut and long-time resident of Johnson, Vt.

Fog in the Lamoille River valley in Hyde Park, Vt., near Johnson