When first we met,
I closed my eyes
And listened deeply;
For it was not
Height nor girth
Nor even age
That most impressed,
But that obvious witness
That here, you stood,
When He stood:
You knew the Light,
Experienced the darkness,
And felt that final
Tremble of His earth;

Perhaps with a well tuned ear,
I might yet hear
Some aeolean hymn
Sung soulfully
Through your awls
And twigs and branches.

Then, like a pilgrim
I reached out
With an open palm
To sense your
Shreddy roughness,
Hoping to absorb
Some lingering
Spiritual virtue
Of that envied time
With our once
And future King.

07/18/2005

Author's Note: Calaveras Grove, CA; 12 July (Thoreau Day) 2005

Posted on 07/18/2005
Copyright © 2024 Leonard M Hawkes