“You needn’t be crazy to be my friend, I can train you.”
— Robin Williams
Raise the carafe with care
pour forth freely
to drink deeply
this wine of friendship
ripened well with time
aged to a vintage true
the seasons have been kind
to this nectar rare
let its heady fragrance
and its bright taste
linger long and lush
lighten your burden
warm your heart
sweeten your dreams
and lift your spirit
to a place of peace and beauty
…may serenity be always yours… salut!
N.B. The “wine of friendship” herein is meant only to be friendship, wine is a metaphor.
Autumn here in the Pacific Northwestern United States is the season of emeralds and gold. The emeralds emanate from the many types of conifers that grow tall and plentiful here in this beautiful region, staying brilliant shades of green year-round. But the gold, that is the magic, and it’s a fleeting wonder that happens only in the Fall season. The source of this prestidigital marvel of nature is a geographically limited pine tree known as the Larch.
Larches are like a pot of gold here in the Fall hiking season. Their flaming yellow needles turn a Cascade Mountain landscape into something ethereal and otherworldly. The few short weeks, during mid-Autumn when the larches’ needles turn golden, make them all the more precious to spot. We call it the season of “Larch Madness.”
As splendrous as gold
cascade mountain larches make
autumn spellbinding
There are two Larches native to this region: the taller Western Larch, and the shorter, higher altitude Subalpine Larch. My personal favorite is the Western Larch, with its triangular shape and narrow crown. They grow up to 170 feet tall here in the Pacific Northwest, on north-facing mountain slopes, at 2,000 to 5,500 feet elevation.
Their needles grow in small clumps, turning a brilliant gold in Autumn, falling off in the winter. They then grow new, yellow-green needles in spring, that again turn a breathtaking golden-amber in the Fall. In addition to their deciduous needles, Larches have conspicuous cones, with smaller, sharper needles, that stick out like a porcupine’s quills between the cones’ layers.
If you don’t happen to live in the realm where Larches grow, a trip to experience the glory of these marvels in their full Autumn color, is well worth the effort.
Atumn alchemy
turn the larch pine wonderland
a splendid pure gold
INSCRIPTION:To Mark — Let the poetic sound of moons and stars invade your night thoughts, to give you sweet dreams always, for in your dreams lies the happiness you truly want — hope you enjoy the book, Michelle
Sparked by Michelle’s inscription, Mark reveals his true heart, and replies to Michelle with a poem, vulnerably baring his soul, sharing his sensual dreams of her.
“Dream Lovers” — by: Oleg Zhivetin
I dream I take you under the stars in May
in a Spring night’s breeze in the marram’s sway
on the silvered beach of a white-capped bay
near the mouth of a moonlit waterway
I dream I take you in a tree-filled park
on a matt of fallen aspen bark
to the Summer song of a meadow lark
on a sunny day until it grows dark
I dream I take you by the garden wall
in the dappled shade of a willow tall
on the scattered down of its leafy sprawl
on a crisp, and heady day in Fall
I dream I take you by the oaken mill
‘neath an autumn tree on a grassy hill
I will take you in the early chill
when our Winter comes — I will take you still
Michelle my love I dream of only you
under the moon — under the stars — all year through
here I share these dreams — that they come true
sweeping us away in passion’s sweet taboo
Author’s note: The inspiration for this poem came when I discovered a giant redwood tree, nearly 300 feet tall, that had fallen in the forest near Eureka, California. It was 1994 and I had been hiking with my 21-year-old daughter Jennifer, my 17-year-old son Aaron, and my 16-year-old son Justin. I was so moved upon seeing the giant down that I wrote the first draft of ideas that evening.
That was a magic time with my kids. Aaron, jumping and waving in his bright red hiking jacket, was the flailing fleck of color in the poem. Less than a year later Aaron was tragically killed. “Fallen” now has deep meaning for me on several levels.
NOTE: I have written an adendum, this day, Wednesday, November 16th, 2022.
Not personal photos. Used to show scale of naturally fallen redwoods.
My god
big as a house
great redwood
broken in repose
tangled root like tentacled mouth
ripped raw from breast of mother earth
massive girth
even prone
you still stand tall
and look there
look
way down there
my son
shoulder high to me
scaled
then strode your mammoth length
now at rest on this forest floor
he’s but a flailing fleck of color now
so small
so far away
yet still astride your hulking mass
mighty redwood
giant in a land of giants
soaring through the great canopy
of this majestic forest
thrusting skyward in your day,
and yet you’ve fallen
shallow rooted I observe
but deep enough to proudly stand
this thousand years
you did not fall unnoticed
in your thunderous final bow
so sad
your end
though all around you
new life
sprouting even from your fallen form
Not a personal photo. Used to show scale.
in this lush calm green
of nature’s vast cathedral
the eternal pulse of life goes on
not unaware of your misfortune
but certainly undaunted
yes
you have fallen
spire becomes spawn
and life goes on
(addendum)
but not for those of you
clearcut maliciously
victims of perpetrated
corporate fallacy
slain by human greed
taken solely for profit
masqueraded as need
such ignorant arrogance
brutality of no defense
foolish humans
spoiling the environment
robbing our atmosphere
of your valuable cleansing
of the greenhouse gases
we’re carelessly dispensing
we puke it daily into our skies
as the environment suffocates
and continually dies
that we can manage your regrowth
lumbering guilty lies
we stifle the oxygen
you so effectively provide
as we rip you clean
from every mountain side
until it’s too damned late
and humankind has died
once piercing the clouds
in towering mighty stands
you’re now the sadly fallen
taken by human hands
it is for you
I weep most bitterly
and for us
the fools unwittingly
blind to your miracles
quite utterly
as slowly
we kill ourselves
Not personal photos. Used to show devastation of human clearcutting.
