In the Mountains (Haibun)

At last I am among these great mountains surrounded by snow caps and clouds. Pungent green and blue valleys drink from melting waterfalls below. How many times I’ve flown above them, higher than any bird has known, as they appear like a spear with white veins gleaming in the sun to the wide rivers and lakes.

I pass my days at sea level, far from the sharp shadow of mountains, in the company of trees and living things,and the small stones on the carpeted earth. What is calling me here to feel this magnificence of rock? To feel the goodness of timelessness? To a memory which becomes part of me, like the first ocean sighting long ago, or the sunrise in the desert, or first time in a plane flying past the moon...

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Mountain Night

Remember the wind, the sound,
The whistling current of life force
And the crisp taste of air made thin.

How the stars at night exploded,
Touching the towering heights,
Filling the sky like a veil!

If nothing else, remember this.

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