Stone doorway
Within the stone doorway
Stands
No one, nothing,
Only
The juniper trees
That
Twist
In the crinkling air
Of morning,
Only the peace of the empty
Jars
That lie
Pale blue as the skies,
No one
Only the goldfinch with his black hat,
About to drop
From sunbeam to slender branch, to hop
And toot in the gray-
Pebbled dawn, only
The chasm that opens
Between the slanted
Sails of the stars
Where the ancient ones
Still
Walk in the windowed wind, where
The gold eyes
Of the bear
Reflect the rushing stream, where
Rocks remember,
Where glad ravens of rain clatter
To uncreate the rusted disarray
Of time, where the spirits of arcane mist
Call ever
In the green, breaking
Waves of the seas
There where there
Is no one
Nowhere
Only the shining wings of lands
Out there
In the lone doorway of stone
On the owl-enchanted outcrop
On the high
Hill.
Written June 28, 2009
Photo: Sanandkarunakaran / Wikimedia Commons / “This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.” Dolmens at Marayoor in Kerala, India.