I am but one minute speck
on the face of this earth,
the same countenance reflected
back to me in field and forest,
in the shriek of bats as well
as the sonar they emit,
the whistling and bellow of elk
as they descend from higher ground
for the winter, the piñon jays,
sapphire blue bodies so different
from their indigo Stellar relations,
gliding in for their morning seed;
When I peer into a body of water,
I see not a mirror, but a plethora
of faces of untold numbers
of creatures that dwell in the depths
as do I, in my own element;
Yet what is this element spoken of?
Is it the air I breathe? The earth
walked upon, the blazing fire
of the sun, cool slices of moonlight
or the quarter-sized drops
of rain that splash upon my forehead?
What am I, if not an assemblage
of all these components, sheathed
in the thinnest veil of skin,
so transparent that I can glimpse
blood coursing through a busy
network of veins, necessary waters
of my body, invisible synovial fluid
keeping joints in motion, bending
and lifting to the billionth degree,
work I have happily performed
since my youth, preparing
for winter, spring, summer, fall;
It’s all the same, here on the mountain
where life at altitude is as unpredictable
as nature can be anywhere, anytime,
only here it cannot be ignored,
and the garden thriving in the heat today
can be frost-encrusted by tomorrow
morning, who can predict?
This time last year, birds were falling
from the skies, a freak storm
that bent trees over double,
and some we lost while some grew back,
and isn’t that life? Is that not, at its root,
the existential distillation of our existence?
Our winter wood supply, so far. 2021
Ah Bela, amongst many other talents, you are a wordsmith 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, my friend! Takes one to know one. 😉💕
LikeLike
Wonderful,
For a moment it put Tubularsock’s feet in the snow and mind in the air.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aww, I’m so glad! Lucky we are getting these cool evenings, hunh? Suddenly, the summer we never got. And that makes me happy enough! 🙏
LikeLike
Well-penned, Bela. Can’t believe that wood stove time is almost here again… your pile’s looking good!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Waah! I welcome the cold though. After 15 years in the sweltering subtropics of Hawaii, I feel quite at home here.
Thank you 🙏 ❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loved the opening lines, and I quote:
“I am but one minute speck
on the face of this earth”
The sheer impermanence of your permanence. The more we succeed in shifting our beliefs to accept this aspect about us, the more we shift ourselves into the space of peace and gratitude.
Thank you
Shakti Ghosal
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Shakti, exactly. The more we shed our sense of self importance and realize you are me and we are all connected, let’s not forget Nature too, The better the world will be for it. 🙏❤️
LikeLike