There is a break in the tree line, behind my former home in Oregon, opening onto a secluded path, which winds up into the forested foothills of Mt Hood. I love to walk on moonlit nights, wandering up through the towering trees. About a half mile trek, along the trail, lit by moonlight, filtered dreamlike through the canopy, brings me to a hidden lake. It nestles captivatingly in a clearing, embraced by a stand of proud Ponderosa’s. Secreted loons eerily lodel. The absence of any light pollution, allows the night sky to explode brilliantly, full of stars.
I love to perch on the trunk of a downed cedar, fallen by the lake’s edge. I gaze up into the night sky, expanding out forever above me. The moon paints the intimate woodland dell in a soft sterling glow. It is a serene, almost sacred experience. And the stars, so many stars — billions and billions of stars, sparkling and spangling and glittering to eternity! It is absolutely breathtaking! And this spectacle is captured, in crystalline clarity, by the mirrored surface of the lake. Above me, below me, as far as I can see — star-clustered infinity. I’m transfixed in a dream, lost in time, mesmerized – adrift in the cosmos.
reflecting like diamonds
on a mirrored lake
*
rob kistner © 2022
Poetry’s looking up at: dVerse