It started like this...
Camped out, tent, State Park,
Near where the Big Sur River
Empties into the Pacific.

Zonked by 8PM,
Wide awake at 2AM.
No flashlight!
(Too much in a rush, Pav).

Maybe that Inn & Restaurant
Two, three miles down Highway 1
Has coffee, maybe open early.
Think I'll hike on down there.

Moon somewhere between
Full and half, good light.
But path back to Park entrance
Has dark, woody parts.

This is where the realization began...

I am now like any other animal
In this forest,
Path-cut by man,
Ruled by the Redwoods.

What are my animal skills?
Listening, remembering,
Sniffing the air, watching dim patterns,
Feeling the path like a blind man.

I feel naked...

It is not fear, entirely;
If I were a raccoon or polecat,
My fur would be extended
To its furthest reach.

It is full-alertness;
It is REALITY!

The moon reflects well
From the white stripe
Guiding me down the right side
Of the almost invisible asphalt.

Unknown things now rule:
Unknown distance.
Unknown hazards.
Unknown animals.

The signs in camp said:
Watch out for
Mountain lions, bobcats,
Deer and coyote.

I can see the highway
For the first mile or so,
But then high redwoods
Block the moon's light.

And now, the whining,
Growing roar of
Tires on Asphalt
Grind inexorably toward me.

I don't want to be seen
By these machine men!
They may be dangerous;
They may be careless.

I hide my glasses,
Cover my bare skin,
And crouch close to the ground
In the forest bordering the asphalt.

And THEY scream past me,
Unseeing,
Not sensing,
This animal in the forest.

-------------------
State Highway 1
Big Sur, California

05/17/1997

Posted on 01/03/2002
Copyright © 2024 Ronald A Pavellas