poetry in motion

August 10, 2014. I remember the date well because my granddaughter Kataleya was born that morning. And that afternoon the poet laureate of the state of Washington, Elizabeth Austen, led a dozen of us on a hike from Pass Lake to the Ginnett overlook area, to teach us about seeing and about writing. We chatted as we hiked, and observed the trail and trees, the ferns and firs, the roots and rigors of hiking a couple of miles.

At the viewpoint, she asked us all to sit down and write a poem from our heart.

September 12, 2021. Thinking of that day, I hiked the route again, adding in a side trip to the Big Cedar Tree, and finishing by dropping down to Rosario and then along the loop trail back to Pass Lake. I thought about that hike seven years ago and how our focus was not on just what we saw, but what we felt, what we cared about, what it meant to us personally, and how it mattered not just now, but for all time.

Today my camera was focused on the intuitions of my eyes, seeing natural beauty and artistry all around me, an interplay of light and color and texture and depth.

I wondered how I could share the thoughts behind the footsteps I took, the beauty I saw, the musings of my soul as I tread upon the trail.

A few days earlier, a friend had read to me a poem that she had written. My heart and mind soared with the imagery and thoughts she shared. What if we talked in poetry, we wondered. I’ll try. Here is what I experienced along the way:

Evening approaching,                                   
trailhead leading me in to
the cool, quiet green

Trees tall, I am small
they raise their arms above me
hearing diff’rent songs

Here they stand, today,
yesterday’s gone, tomorrow’s
not here, breathe, breathe, breathe

I walk at their pace
I walk in their shadow world
I walk amid giants

One has fallen, now sleeps
others now grow where it lies
giving life in death

Roots, arms reaching out
anchors to the wind, living
branches underground

How am I grounded?
How far do I reach out for
depth and life and health?

Highway sounds and then --
Naked Man Valley, silence,
quiet … bird’s soft voice

Rise up where you stand
it’s given to you to be
all that you are, here

Trails can challenge us
we challenge ourselves to move
while we can, to live

To journey is life
each day’s steps lead us onward
At the top, the view

Candles in the wind
gripping the light of day’s end
do not go gentle

Once upon a time
I danced across this streamlet
a bridge cannot waltz

Climbing -- out of breath --
steep trail -- switchbacks -- ever up --
And then ... there it is

Centuries it has stood
Untold lifetimes pass beneath --
yet it stands, still here

Clearcut private woods,
trees gone to feed our desires.
Nature feeds our souls

My son built this trail
plans, permits, shovels and sweat
The trail built my son

The end of the trail
Reflections on the water
Passing days and dreams

I have hiked this trail dozens of times in the seven years since the poet walked with us. Seven years is a lot of time in the lifespan of a human. Much has changed. And seven years is just a wisp of a forest’s heartbeat along the trails we follow.

And the poem I wrote back then?

To my newborn granddaughter:

My body carries me along this trail
looking with others
at fallen timbers ancient bodies
with new growth
springing up
from underneath the old.

We move on.
We rise, we fall, we climb, we rest,
we look ahead,
we look back.

You will see me as an aging tree,
but still moving
still climbing
never stopping until I fall

lying down someday
as you rise above.

jack

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Directions for this portion of trail: On Highway 20 just north of the Deception Pass Bridge, turn west on Rosario Road, then immediately right into the Pass Lake parking lot.
Note: Pass Lake has extremely high counts of a toxic algae. Keep yourself and all pets from the water.

Accessibility: Transit services do not stop in this busy and congested area.

Mobility access: This trail is hilly and uneven with numerous areas of roots and rocks.

Bike access: although accessible by bike, the roadways in this area have narrow shoulders, high speed- limits, and abundant traffic.