I’d made the hike in,
And was focusing on,
Shadowy patterns appearing
Like Rorschach’s upon the surface …
.
Suddenly the
Nikon D-4S
Goes dark,
Shutter stops-
LCD panel blank -
Autofocus freezes-
Battery’s dead…
.
No problem. I’ve a spare.
Remove, reinsert, and stare.
Can’t believe this. It’s not fair.
.
Like an activated volcano;
A barrage of hot emotions
Spew out as it becomes
Perfectly clear my
Assignments been
Stymied because
The spare is dead as well…
.
Eyes shift anxiously
As explosive frustrations erupt
Momentarily in a foaming flux of oaths;
When all that was conceived and
Perceived as certainty fails miserably…
.
So…
.
After my twit,
When I’d calmed a bit,
A petty presumption burbles up;
The conditions suck,
Cloudy dismay,
Lighting too gray,
Solacing in a funny way.
An Osprey swoops down and
Hits with a splash; snarky ravens caw
Their discontent and begin circling above…
.
Are there fish in Caldera’s?
.
Suddenly my
Thwarted mind recalls
The proud idiot Icarus who
Too failingly aspired to new heights…
Had he foreseen those (blinded by the sun)
Moments when Anthelion’s radiant rays would
Melt his wax-held-feathery-wings, he may have
Taken another approach and been happier…
.
So I clamber down
For one last look (thinking)
Such is the hooey of all us dreamers
Celebrating our for-certain-planned-plans,
While the unexpected forces upon us another
Way of imbibing the fool’s panacea. All of us – much
Like the silent caldera – once fearlessly forceful,
Now yielding to the unexpected.
.
Where once in fierce indifference lava ERUPTED,
Where once molten violence spewed out in red-hot rivers,
Where once the land trembled in dread; I stood gazing
Down one last time at a sleeping caldera. It was in
That instant, as my emotion EMULSIFIED
With its murky still waters,
That I realized some mighty catalyst
Had SILENCED the once proud force,
As it had now for me as well…
.
Next time I’ll make sure ALL the batteries are charged
.
richard lloyd cederberg
2018
       richardlloydcederberg.com