ready to notice, and appreciate

expectations

the mountain sheep weren’t there on the hike up,

on the way back, a ewe and her lamb 

seemed to wait for us below the trail, 

at the top of a steep slope

on which the ewe nibbled grass 

and the lamb tried out sage,

enough protection for the mother 

so that she came close to us,

and I snapped photo after photo

to capture a bit of these animals, 

wild and true to themselves,

I hoped for wolves on the drive over,

and no wolves appeared, no moose,

 no grizzly except in the far distance,

I thought again of how important it is 

to not expect too much, too narrowly,

yet it’s also important to have 

a plethora of expectations, hopes,

so that when something is revealed,

we are ready to notice, 

and then to appreciate it.

by Henry H. Walker

June 23, ’13