Monday, July 17, 2017

royals revealed



Listen again to the Wind. . .

the Wind River Mountains are magnificent, 
as imposing and impressive as any 
of these western upthrusts of gray stone,
high enough to kiss the clouds,
to pull and hold the snow
even into summer if you’re high enough up,
these mountains are high enough 
to lift the eye and the spirit toward the heavens,

the Wind remember the great glaciation
in their sharp peaks, sculpted valleys,
in the moraines that hold their lakes and our roads,

yet the Wind River Mountains seem to hide, 
unlike the Tetons who fault straight up from the valley
and enable house and airport and road
to crowd against them and to feel their power
the Wind are surrounded by foothills,
a great ring of moraines left there
from the time of ice and the great sculpting,
they block our view as if they’re aides protecting the royals,

today we drive 15 miles up one of those aides,
hike near 2 miles through gorgeous forest
of pine, fir, spruce, and aspen,
with cheery little streams we have to cross,
paralleled by scrub willow and bespeckled
with yellow, and with paintbrush and columbine,
this bear habitat makes us talk and sing
to let any that might be around know we’re coming,




we get to where the cliff drops off miles into the valley,
we hold hands to experience the opening together,
and the Wind reveal themselves with such energy
they take our breath away,




the next day we drive near 20 miles up along the Green River
to where it flows out of its lakes,
above the lakes the Wind reveal themselves without hiding
by putting forth two from their range, proud and singular,
as if they thrust up from the shore of the lake
and shout “We are here!”




how wonderful that we can be here with them.



by Henry H. Walker
July 13, ’17


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