-- Inside Wilderness --

John Herlihy

Not as often as I might like, but often enough,

I take myself to the wilderness, into the rough.

The invading silence makes a perfect interlude,

The bird’s sweet voice an insult to the quietude.

Something about silence to create perfect pitch,

Touched by a sacred wand, humanity to bewitch.

An ancestral school I visit to set my mind aright,

Humbled in perfect solitude as I take in the sight.

Exclamations broke forth that mirrored my gaze;

Low, guarded surprise as I peered thru the haze.

Behold, a placed lake shimmered in light spread,

By an isolated mountain, from glacial waters fed.

By a miracle of nature, the human eye is tricked,

Lending a dual image to the setting oh so perfect.

The stately trees rose majestically from the water;

The self-same trees reflected in this lonely quarter.

Strange how the scene produced solemn solitude,

With peaceful repose within this so brief interlude.

Wherever an eye turned, the mirror surface of lake,

Perfect reflection of a sky only heaven could make.

Rich and fleecy the fur trees on the mountain side,

The outline of trees impossible for the lake to hide.

The triumph of the forest could never be so complete;

The graceful limbs reached up, heaven’s light to meet.

Dark Rembrandt-looking hemlocks graced the shore,

Quivering aspens, melancholy pines, there to adore.

The hand of man had never defaced this native scene;

Nature’s grandeur leaves no doubt what it may mean.

The light be the day, just as the darkness be the night;

An eternal interchange of time, the silence feels right.

Bound by the softness of summer, winter traced in lace;

Sunlight and darkness forever fall on this pristine place.

No man can call himself owner of such magnificent glory;

Mountain and lake offer us insight into the divine story.

We must learn to pay attention, not simply pass them by;

Wilderness offers revelation to answer the question why.

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(c) John Herlihy Friday 30 August 2019