a neighbor stands in his yard
and bemoans roads – says
he prefers wilderness
and dogs, and rails now
against the HOA and their
six brains thinking as one
but after a few too many,
wields his weed whacker –
one-handed against any blade
rising higher than some
arbitrary regulation height
we watch from my dandelions –
the dogs, the yellow cedar, and I –
different minds entirely
© Sarah Whiteley
poacher’s knot,
lark’s head, and bight –
until I find
which ropes to break,
I will tie them
to my own purpose
instead
© Sarah Whiteley
I have been spending some time getting my gear ready for a solo trek into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness later next week. Last night, I spent an hour outside just before dusk, getting my new tie-outs ready for the tarp and finding great satisfaction in tying my knots. Maybe it’s just me, but I think there’s a certain grace in knots – in altering the shape of rope (or in my case, AmSteel) to suit a purpose.
Once hung, my tarp will be shelter and comfort, will allay the winds from the ridge and keep me dry. A bit of fabric, a length of rope, and I can be at peace in the wild for a time. If only everything could be so simple.
hot coffee, and the maps are out –
the rise out of Box Canyon
an uneven line of red
a map may tally an ascent,
mark the twists in a trail,
lend certain assurances
what it cannot show is emergence
from a stone-heavy world
into the mercy of pines –
into the stalwart grace
of a waiting mountain,
where the rushing creeks sing
and the winds hum along
© Sarah Whiteley
it is late and rain falls on rain
all day long the wind called,
tumbling through the trees
unable to answer, I sit now beside
the open window imagining
that wild intensity of scent –
damp pine before the day awakens
© Sarah Whiteley
My newest chapbook Wandering Wonderful is now available for pre-order from Finishing Line Press. Pre-orders through March 22nd will have an opportunity to win a canvas print of the cover art. Click for details!
more in line with
the leanings of trees
and with the deeper
philosophies of mud,
the day’s reading
comes from the heron
fishing the edge
of the morning sea
© Sarah Whiteley
My newest chapbook Wandering Wonderful is now available for pre-order from Finishing Line Press. Pre-orders through March 22nd will have an opportunity to win a canvas print of the cover art. Click for details!
to say that a landscape
can never be clamorous
disregards the wild
hearts within it,
forgets the crows
and casts no winds
an outlook is only
sometimes peaceful,
and mostly uproarious
© Sarah Whiteley
My newest chapbook Wandering Wonderful is now available for pre-order from Finishing Line Press. Pre-orders through March 22nd will have an opportunity to win a canvas print of the cover art. Click for details!
the rocks smell of rain,
and somehow too
of growing things that cling
to cracks and grooves
I imagine, when breaking
needles of spruce into cider,
this must be the scent
of wild-some joy
© Sarah Whiteley
My newest chapbook Wandering Wonderful is now available for pre-order from Finishing Line Press. Pre-orders through March 22nd will have an opportunity to win a canvas print of the cover art. Click for details!
I stop in the cold where the elk have rubbed
their considerable selves against the trees –
signatures in russet worn by the river birch
there is a tangible rising when standing beside
evidence of what is wilder than us –
a furtive blessing, a lift akin to grace
I would spend my life on this – on branch,
on root, on hoof prints sliced into the snow
I would stop and stand with my solitude –
with my own snowy indentations –
and be simply crowded with light
© Sarah Whiteley
My newest chapbook Wandering Wonderful is now available for pre-order from Finishing Line Press. Pre-orders through March 22nd will have an opportunity to win a canvas print of the cover art. Click for details!
ebbtide 