Sunday, May. 30, 2010 - 11:36 a.m.
Magic Day
***********
drive north early & fast
don't stop till you arrive
where we agreed walk walk walk
all the way in from the highway
to the edge of forever
We sat down by
the cold pounding waves
of Lake Huron'
and broke stones with hammers
freeing the ghosts of trilobites,
lamp shells and curious beings ho had been hidden from the light of life
for the last 400 million years
and then we feasted
on strawberries' and olives'
and bread and mustard
as the cool wind poured over us
and the earl summer sun warmed us
for we had earlier in the day
hiked the huge escarpment
and marvelled on the lookout
where in one sweeping glance
we could see 200 square miles
while the sun pounded down on us and then snake down into
the mighty rock clefts of the escarpment
open to the sky above
down down
where the direct sun
had never shined before in all time
where the long probing roots
of the ancient rock hugging cedars
went to drink
where as we descended down down
always down the moss upolstered the steep narrow canyon walls
and curious ferns watched us pass and we could see our breath down there
in the heat of the day
and as we got to the very bottom
it was cold
there was still snow down there
and snooping hard we found
that someone had placed
an offering of
apple blossoms there
such tender anonymous salutation
was overwhelming
it was hard to say anything
just point and gasp and nod
they still retained
some form & colour
from a month before
and laid on the secret snow
like pink baby faeries sleeping
on the climb out
we were passed by
20 Korean hikers
the last one whom recognized me
from a brief meeting a month before
we proudly posed for photos
and were so glad to have met again
in such happy circumstances
and as we climbed back up
towards the sunshine
we snooped into cracks
and found a votive stone knife
some prehistoric admirer
had tucked in there
who knows how many
centuries, millenia before ?
we handled it in admiration
of its simple determined design
still sharp after all that time
photographed it against
the black T shirt of our hiking Queen and put it back where we found it
it wasn;t ours
or meant for anybody in particulat
and walked on down through the cedar groves where i recognised
many rare medicianal plants
that had long begone extinct
where I live 300 miles south but were here growing luxuriously
as i ate a perfect fresh sasarparilla
I could feel its zonky energy
race through my body
it felt like trespassing
to touch anything
to photograph anything
just whisper and point and nod
the mosquitos claimed
their ration of blood
but we have plenty
besides they frighten off
the unworthy seekers of paradise
and then the waterfall
no words are worthy
but five little girls
were frolicking at the tumbling edge
throwing big stones over
and applauding, in turn
each others
inherent wonderfullness
as we watched from
@a respectful distance
gathering water mints
and cresses in the dancing stream
Downloading the photos
I could hardly believe
i was actually there
but my fun bag
is heavy with fossils
and there is a paper cup
wiggling with watermint and cress
on the table
