the crowded trail

while riding my
bike
through the woods on the paved
path,
I see snakes
that I must swerve
to avoid,
foxes darting
through the brush,
the startled
frozen poses
of deer.
raccoons hissing,
eating
something
dead on the side
of the trail.
there is the shadowed
swoop of owls
holding mice
in their claws.
I swallow gnats along
the way,
wiping them out of
my eyes and ears,
but the hardest part
of the ride
is people.
hand in hand, strollers
and dogs,
plugged in to phones
and music
not knowing that your
pedaling near.