Breath of God

this is the place
I wished for
something moves upon the wind
and longing
feels no urgency to go
cedar sweats
as knot to knot
grain against the strumming
as white to flash
a covey spills to flight
I am here
to share the wonder
the same as shale and story
to fill my blood with love
strength that pulls
the pines



let be
this time of loving
let not my words be caught
in harsh regrets
or looking back
to other ways I crossed
to tender paths
I wonder still
what fate awaited there
was given me for choosing
with nothing to compare
let me sit
in this becoming
as mystery unfolds
a brush against
what might have been
a solace to my soul



above a crush
of timber
wings to stretch the sky
and somewhere close
I hear the river singing
as soft the breeze reminds me
I am home again
this inbetween
tho just the same
as hemlock, fir, and myrtle
my roots reach deep
into this place
I love
mountains rise
but not so far
they leave behind the laurel
blue against her bosom
sunlight fills her crown
eastward turns a shadow
on the valley
of her tears
where I am found renewed
to those whose name
I wear



sweeter here
the morning air
tis come as truth
the breath of God
how is it
I can tarry here
without a place to be
and see it all
(made clearer)
light dispersed by branches
broadened blades of living
storms of silver leaf
vines support a brother
til limbs grow strong again
seasons tumble (softer now)
to blankets red and golden
standing ancient swords
are naked (do not care)
love is home to everything that matters
from sycamore to beech
hyacinth to crow
ten thounsand trees
and all with light their own
held the truth
years before my coming
swore an oath to fathers
would keep this place
for me



how long it's been
I forgot their names
the shape of clothes they carry
sweet gum
oak and cedar
forever proud they stand
against the push
that is the world
more and take
and bury
even now the mountain grieves
for one they cannot save
yesterday grows lonely
in shades of nevergreen
a shadow cast by giving up
another falls
to shadow
timbers mourn in silence
the shape of winter dreams

Author's Note: As friends of the Smoky Mountains know,
an imported old-world insect, the Balsam Wooly Adelgid has decimated
Frazier fir trees throughout Eastern North America. From the highest peaks
you can now look out over millions of ugly skeletons of dead trees.



I know this song
the sound of leaves
whispers fill the forest
I close my eyes
and hear the evening tide
a melody remembered
is played again at twilight
once given to the trees
when love befell the dreamer
notes of ash and chestnut
were floated out to sea
I wonder do they miss
the shore
another place they sing