Dragon Mountain

Emerald, scaled with spruce!

I climb Your spiny ridge and tail

not all at once but hike by hike,

connecting dots years tape together.

waterfalls of weather,

layered scrims of air

in panoramic shots,

wilderness views unspoiled, unsoiled,

moments intense

with vivid contact, life with life:

clues, moods, unwinking eyes,

snow tracks, blood drops,

berries and cones shattered

by sharp beaks, tiny teeth,

and air punctuated

by staccato sound:

pileated hammering

at the forest’s heart,

blue heron’s Whitman yawp,

jangled coyote ululations

in frenzied moonlit dance.

Mother Earth’s sweet breath,

caressing greeting.

Whorled worlds of waiting,

future’s trees:

squittering squirrels feast on these,

hide them for sometime eating.

Long/short, the future:

yours and mine, Hers,

calling in a breeze,

whipping in a wind:

this wine of days, sip by sip.

Savor this: heart’s ease.

© Tamara Rasmussen 2018