Cover photo courtesy of John Nopel
"...gems of acute observation, in the language of
the California landscape." —Harold Gilliam
"The diction, deceptively simple in the manner of
the Spanish poets he loves, evokes a complex
world of natural beauty and mystery, as well as
the environmental intrusions that degrade it."
—Madeline DeFrees
" ...collects the fleeting moments of true seeing and
makes them last." —Richard Wakefield, The Seattle Times
SAMPLE POEM
Six
Canada Geese
on the wing on the flyway
above our house. V
after V stars the day sky
in a straight-line journey
home. The ah-honks
of their joy are like haunting
jazz solos—
"wings of meaning"
Stevens sort of said.
One blue afternoon
I watched a lead goose
lose its way (the wingless
can't say why), drop,
and circle—
its well-taught flock
strung behind.
Each new skein joined
the confusion, and soon
thousands of geese were swirling,
wildly honking.
I felt scared
hearing those birds. We know
so little about home,
let alone the world,
and there's so much wing
up there.
[from "The Lesson of Birds"]
© 1999 by Gary Thompson
On John Muir's Trail
First published inWriter's Forum and The Northern California Handbook
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