Rapt

NaPoMo poem #9

This is the ninth of the poems I will be writing each day here in April, in honor of National Poetry Month, as proclaimed by the Academy of American Poets.

• NOTE: these poems will all essentially be early drafts, so edits may occur after their initial posting.

Rapt

____

my footfalls
drum the root chambers
of the old growth
each step
cushioned by centuries of needle-drop
in this ancient forest

enjoying the rise and fall
twist and turn of the trail
I amble

my walking stick is smooth
clutched comfortably
in my right hand

tensions dissipate
soothed
by the audible stir of the wind
in the treetops

wafting down the western Cascade slopes
it invigorates

the steady rhythm of my footsteps
hypnotize

rounding a bend in the trail
brushing through waist-high fern
I crest a knoll
and stop

mesmerized

filtered by the towering woodland canopy
light drifts down dreamlike
settles golden
into the natural cathedral before me

a presence is tangible

a breeze enfolds me
filled with the intoxicating scent
of living earth

an addictive bouquet
of cascade red cedar
douglas fir
ponderosa pine
moss
bark
loam
and ionized mountain air

my spirit rises
my being grows weightless
any sense of self floats away
lifted into oneness
wholeness
bliss

I’m startled from my reverie

a young doe
bounds onto the trail ahead
stands proud
pauses in the golden light

she considers me briefly
then disappears
quick as a stolen glance
quiet as passing time

darting my eyes
here then there
in a vain attempt to follow her
I catch glimpse of silver-blue
shimmering
where massive tree trunks part

a wind-blow lake appears

this crisp mountain mirror
is the reason for my trek
into this mighty wilderness

climbing a boulder at trail’s edge
I sit
pull my legs under me
and lean forward
elbows on knees

I face lake-ward
basking in the energy

I grow very still
listen
gaze
I become this moment
rapt

in touch with my soul
with the eternal
transcendent
in paradise

____

rob kistner © 2009

___________________________

you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem

17 thoughts on “Rapt”

  1. Interesting. My poem was about water – with the lake frozen, I anxiously await the wind on the water…

    It is an immense image. Well done.

    That said, I wrote about a river….

  2. wow.unbelievable you have describe the 140 acres we live on in the Rockies….”cascade red cedar..douglas fir..moss..bark..mountain air”. and the creek that runs through the property empties into the Columbia and ends up down your way. Once again Rob beautiful words….Hey Its all paradise.

  3. Very compelling images, especially for someone like me who grew up West of the Cascades. I still don’t know how to capture those transcendent moments that you describe so beautifully. Nice work.

  4. Rob, you have given me a bad case of homesickness. I have traveled that path in the northwestern forest and remembered the smell of the fir and the feel of the foot on the deep fallen needles– truly paradise.

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