Sounds of Nature

The birds cooed from far away and my mental awoke for just a second. I

felt the wood press my back and remembered, if only for the moment, I was still present in this house, looking over a mountain view that—I was remembering now—really was just a view.

Alas, the sky was inviting today, but I could feel clouds rumbling through my gut. ‘Our natures are one and the same’ I thought. The birds did too as they called back, drifting up and over my eye-line like poetry.

The sheer mountain range jutting out from behind the tall sequoias was the gleam of my attention. It had stood there for millions of years and never lost its strength, and, I believed, its might would remain long after it had gone. ‘Hopefully not too long,’ I prayed to my hands.

Beneath the grey rock there was a snake of water, rattling into an open lake. The river was fierce and I felt like I could drown in that very moment from up above in my castle. But I could use the water. Beyond the lake the canyon twisted through, infinitely constricting until it was no longer seen. ‘That’s the way things are’ I thought again. ‘You can break anything down so that it disappears entirely, no matter its origins.’

I imagined that beyond that deep canyon there would be some more trees, or maybe a nice bed of flowers, but I could not know. Maybe one day I would rise from this creaking veranda, with tough clothes and light skin, and make the trek down to see for myself.