It was all too evident that
The paths here had changed,
Once a paradise,
Heightened by colorful
Posies of wildflowers and cactus;
A barren landscape now lay devastated…
.
Once a tapestry of life and color,
Now a sad abandoned playground, once
A verdant forest of green branches swaying,
Now the chalky remains of fires deadly frenzy,
Once a place satisfying the heart in joys lightness’s,
Now a ravaged topography begging for rebirth…
.
With heavy hearts we started up
Towards a scorched Cuyamaca Peak,
Over charred sands,
Along brush-fouled gullies,
Past blackened Pines and Manzanita,
Through the ashy dung of horses,
Where dust-devils swirled in
Quicksilver winds, and
Breath was drawn
Through handkerchief masks…
.
Often readjusting our
Backpacks, we tread-on slowly
Upwards through a wasteland of
Burnt vegetation, and a few lasting
Patches of wildflowers purple,
Calling out unabashed
For refreshing
Thoughts to rain down
Upon two discouraged hearts,
For keen ears to hear Wisdom’s voice,
For eyes to be opened
To the hidden
And the marvelous
In God’s majestic creation…
.
In that moment,
As a vision of roses thrown
Haphazardly upon charcoal,
I saw a woman’s form
As an effigy of Cytherea
Shadowed against remote ridges,
I watched as waves of midday heat
Shimmered over her features,
And soft dispersive breezes
Floated strands of
Silken hair…
She was there,
Beside me, as pure water
Flowing in far-reaching streams,
As a furtherance of deep-welling-visions
Imparted to the soul of one now fully amazed
.
For those moments my love
You became a bridge
Between my mind and actions,
Between my heart and my words,
You became the impulse
That gripped me in firm encirclement,
It was you Michele that I was
Shown as a loving vision,
It was you Michele
Who became
The wind in my hands,
It was you Michele
Imparting vitality
To insensate dailiness,
It was you Michele
Who I saw bathed in sunlight,
And for a day together
You took my hand
To take me soaring with the Eagles…
.
richard lloyd cederberg
2018

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