Five Directions to Natural Peace

Response to Prompt #38

I went round and round about what to do with this prompt.  Lots of ideas, but all either too abstract or too preachy.  I needed something better.

Then I ran across one of my "Five Directions" poems, and decided that would be it.  Succinct, but would carry some imagery and meaning.

Palm Springs 1990

A place I found the deepest peace kept coming to mind. It was a mountaintop in California, overlooking Palm Springs. We were there in 1990 for a convention, and took Sunday morning to go to take the tram to the top of the mountain.  It was there I walked and sat and kept hearing a weird noise.  It was like a whirring, and it took me a while to figure out what it was the birds' wings.  It was so quiet up there in the sky, that was the only sound that came through.

Rocky River Reservation, Northeastern Ohio

But I couldn't just focus on that one spot. After all, it was long ago.  So I pulled in other peaceful places...the woods, the swamp. My encounters with owls.  And a little bit more.

(Final note: when I was searching through my photos, I realized I totally left the beach off of this poem as a place of peace.  Kind of interesting to me it didn't pop up!)

Five Directions to Natural Peace

Go back to the mountain, the woods, the swamp

Walk the rocks, kick the leaves, see your reflection

Beneath the cloudless sky, the sun, the natural peace of wild things

A low hoot, a whistle: great-horned, barred, wide eyes watching you

You are there, almost, when you stop, listen, acknowledge, let it in

I said five, but the moon and stars in the night sky say six

Barred Owl, Corkscrew Swamp, 2009

Moonset over Pine Island Sound, New Years Day 2009