You know the scenic overlook
on the way up Trail Ridge Road,
the one with the curving boardwalk
that looks across the valley overshadowed
by the endless rise of Longs Peak,
the one where children play on the rocks
while parents inhale as they examine the expanse
as if to take it all inside of themselves?
Well, if you can ever go there alone with time
and freedom to stand in the quiver of thought,
and to do that you might need to be there at dawn,
when the light is just right on the mountain,
at the time of day when there is seldom any haze,
only perhaps one low hanging cloud positioned
to give you a sense of depth and perception,
in this setting it is likely you will have ears to hear.
But it is difficult to speak of such things,
how the presence of wilderness lays bare the soul
and speaks truth about the nature of beauty,
the privilege to embrace what you can not hold,
to possess what you will never own,
how every preceding moment of life
has served to create the capacity within
for the Voice of the Ages you have heard.
