POEM: Triptych

I The Want

Sometimes
Within the expanse that is who I am –
Sometimes
In the unspelunked caves of what love I’m capable of –
With no map in,
Inaccessible to any sort of GPS
Complete without fakery of any kind –
Sometimes it is here that I want to be wanted,
Wandering my days and nights through faithless deserts,
Dry and parched,
I seek love like water.

II The Solitude

In this place of solitude
With winds that try to learn my name
On this mountain kicking igneous rock
I face the unknowable God.

We hikers are like priests
Naming the sacramentals of Ash and Oak,
Of Maple and Juniper,
Of river and the curvy horizon,
Of sky drained pink
As sun begs night to sing its vespers.

III The Twilight

The intricacy of prairie life doesn’t shout at you.
Get down on your knees,
Stop in the gathering twilight
Slow down or you’ll miss everything
If you are just passing through:
The frills of long bracted spiderwort,
Fireflies that dance against fragrant wild alfalfa,
Inch wide blossoms that last just a day,
And the riot of the luminous that will not survive anyway.