Poetry: Rhythm and Reflection in the North Cascades
HUB OF THE WHEEL
Fingers of smoke from wildfires
reach down Big Beaver and Pierce Creek valleys
and cover the deep blue of Ross Lake
like a quilt.
The drift mingles with other smokestreams
from Ruby and Thunder creeks,
where mountains, too,
have been touched by the sky.
Smoke clouds curl around Sourdough Mountain,
where I sit in the clear blue center
of this gesture: mudra
of the mountain Buddhas.
Waft of incense from a world renewed,
forests / meadows
rained into soil.
The teachings come round again.
— Tim McNulty, from Through High Still Air: A Season at Sourdough Mountain
END OF SUMMER
The cries of migrating swans
stitch the clouds together,
white on white.
Rain yesterday,
sun this afternoon,
cold trees shedding leaves.
In the brown reeds
a red-winged blackbird
remembers his summer song.
Each stroke of my paddle
brings me closer
to those I love.
— Saul Weisberg, from Headwaters: Poems & Field Notes
Join Institute founder and executive director Saul Weisberg and poet & essayist Tim McNulty September 25-27 for a fall weekend in the North Cascades exploring poetry and the outdoors; registration includes instruction, organic meals and overnight accommodations on Diablo Lake. Details at http://ncascades.org/sign…/programs/poetry-with-tim-and-saul and (360) 854-2599.
sun this afternoon,
cold trees shedding leaves.
In the brown reeds
a red-winged blackbird
remembers his summer song.
Each stroke of my paddle
brings me closer
to those I love.
— Saul Weisberg, from Headwaters: Poems & Field Notes
Join Institute founder and executive director Saul Weisberg and poet & essayist Tim McNulty September 25-27 for a fall weekend in the North Cascades exploring poetry and the outdoors; registration includes instruction, organic meals and overnight accommodations on Diablo Lake. Details at http://ncascades.org/sign…/programs/poetry-with-tim-and-saul and (360) 854-2599.