just a taste of sweetness?

moments of transcendence

in between the practical tasks that pull at me,

I give the bulk of my morning

to pushing myself up the mountains,

letting vista and flower pull me up to them,

I feel the aerobic burn of my aging body,

68 years old by the calendar

and getting older judged by my aches and pains,

the air is fresh and the views as breathtaking as the pull,

laurel, catawba rhododendron, and galax

are there to again draw me to them,

just before the Summer Solstice,

as I’m savoring flower pictures with my digital camera,

I look into the sky above the old ridge,

and two peregrine falcon circle in the thermals,

their world and mine only touch for a few moments,

and others hiking by me seem to not care to heed my pointing,

and to savor a moment with them,

I want to be ready for each revelation of beauty

that greatness can chance to reveal to my pedestrian life.

I call up a memory of my wife’s mother

who could just have a taste of sweetness after supper,

who didn’t need to over-indulge in quantity while savoring quality,

but I still want even more encounters with the falcons.

I need to joy in what I have and not sorrow for more.

by Henry H. Walker

June 18, ’16