The Lure
A lure toward chill air
that cools sweat on skin
as the hike comes
ever harder
and altitude higher
Hours pass while
trees grow sparse
and the ground
becomes bare stone
And I hear the call as it
whispers through trees…
Higher
Keep going
Silver Skies
Fluff and swirl
against gauzy film
turns sky
from blue
to silvery hues
As cotton balls
drift
like airy mountains
insubstantial
and massive
sliding from view
The air is cold
Morning Serenade
Birds sweep through
air above water
following air currents
between dives
to catch hovering bugs
their song sweet
and bright
and welcoming
to blue skies
as the sun burns off
the film
of gauzy clouds
Inviting visitors
to sit and stay a while
The Barrier
Time to slip
beyond the fronds
to dappled shade
and hushed spaces
filled with
moss draped surfaces
and damp earth
take a breath
and let the whispers
of hidden friends
skittering through
underbrush
tempt you deeper
among the trees
Deceptive Beauty
Rough and rocky
the water’s cold
gray mixed and choppy
it will numb the toes
yet with such a view
it’s hard to take care
it seems so harmless
when you’re there
I want to dive in
and explore beneath
then slip into the forest
and get lost
among moss and trees
The Secret Squishy
Prickly edges
jut out
in angular patterns
with insides jagged
and not inviting
yet you reach anyway
and discover
what appears sharp
is soft as rose petals
and feathered down
while soul’s arid ache
waits
for the kiss of dew drops
Twisting the Leaf 