There is health in thy gray wing,
Health of nature's furnishing.
Say, thou modern-winged antique,
Was thy mistress ever sick?
In each heaving of thy wing
Thou dost health and leisure bring,
Thou dost waive disease and pain
And resume new life again.
foggy morning:
a figure approaches...
nope, just a shrub!
translucent hibiscus:
keeps its secrets
in its folds;
anywhere petals
don't double over,
the light shines through.
hanging face down --
pistil dangling --
pockets emptied by
gravity.
the jungle beyond blurs.
mountain sunfall:
vivid tree afore; painted
backdrop behind.
Dissolving mountains.
Craggy & rugged outside.
Stone pock-marked & pitted,
Deformed natural bonsai
growing out of the cliff.
Hollow on the inside.
Amorphous caves tunnel
under those rocky tops,
Smooth lumpy cave floors
and walls,
Rough & gritty stalactites
overhead.
How long does it take to dissolve
a mountain?
Mostly, the dead decay:
they crumble
or rot to goo.
But some trees
turn steely
hard & smooth --
fibers showing like
rigid sinews.
Bare of bark and leaves
and flowers,
but unyielding of
girth and substance.
But even those trees
give way --
perhaps in geologic time
rather than biologic time,
But still the tree will become
someone & something else.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 