snack time
on the summit of Jumbo Mountain
crashing thunder
a bear bowls
one boulder into the next
leaves a tasty ant nest
open to sky
my bones almost register
the hard crack of rock on rock
Tag: Jumbo Mountain
Jumbo Mountain Speaks
This was an assignment for the Emergence Magazine Nature Writing class. We edited work using feedback from the previous session, so this is an edited version of the poem from the May 31st post.
Jumbo Mountain Speaks
come rest your weariness
on these hard rocks
a stiff wind will buffet your body
proving the heart entombed
in your aching chest
still beats
face west
toward the long white wall of peaks
back to the cities
the fires the shards
those fights are for another hour
feel your hardness
drain into the rocks beneath your palms
your porous bones no match
for their fixed crystals
you were not meant for this
your soft bleeding body
weeps water, not ice
just sit and be
while the wind works its way into you
until your rage flickers out
and there’s new space
between your ribs
I know what it’s like
to feel your heart mined out
set upon by pickaxes
swarmed by the rapacious
proving up on false claims
of their right to strip the world
of whatever life they like
and I know
how to lie still night after night
staring unblinking into quiet stillness
until my shoulders ease;
how to outlast dismantling
it takes an achingly long time
for the ore to lose its currency
the forest to gain a voice
and the scars to grow over
but just listen now
to the exultant tough little aspens
reclaiming this mountain
their young leaves fizzing with joy
roots binding the wounded slope
proving
sometimes healing happens
even in this brutal world
even as the cities burn, beauty
even as the cities burn, beauty
on the little peak
in the warm late afternoon light
aspen leaves fired green
hermit thrushes burbling
clouds silhouetting the Divide
my heart empty
and body whole
in a welcoming place
I couldn’t stop saying aloud
it’s all so beautiful
Jumbo Mountain Speaks
Jumbo Mountain Speaks
come rest your weariness
here on these hard rocks
with a stiff wind
that will buffet your body
proving the heart
entombed in your aching chest
still beats
face west
toward the long white wall of peaks
back to the cities
the fires the glass
those are fights for another hour
feel your hardness
drain into the rocks beneath your palms
your porous bones no match
for their fixed crystals
you were not meant for this
a soft bleeding body
that weeps water, not ice
just sit and be
while the wind works its way into you
until your rage flickers out
and there’s a new space
between your ribs
I know what it’s like
to feel your heart mined out
set upon by pickaxes
swarmed by the rapacious
proving up on false claims
of their right to strip the world
of whatever life they like
and I know
how to lie still
every night
and stare unblinking
into quiet stillness
until my shoulders ease
it takes a long time
for the ore to lose its currency
the forest to gain a voice
and the scars to grow over
but you can see
all the little aspen now
their young leaves
fizzing with joy
reminding you
that evil subsides
when value systems
shift
