A Poet’s Message

Their shadows silent in the dark,
His people’s future dim,
The empty page, white and stark
No words of hope from him.

Then on a breeze, small flakes of white
Lit dimly by a star,
Descended from the dark of night
And settled near, and far.

Upon the dawn the poet’s eye
Awakened by the snow,
Saw scenes from magic days gone by
Of beauty here below.

With fingers stiffened from the cold
He grasped his pen at last,
And on a page in letters bold
Scribed splendor from the past.

Words of wisdom, a phrase of mirth
Of meadows bright with verdant wealth,
The beauty of our Mother Earth
Her bygone days of vibrant health.

Hope kindled once again,
Heart to join the fight anew.
His message to the hearts of men:
“Within the wilderness, renew”.

(Maybe today it is time to consider something that John Muir said over a century ago, that going to wilderness is going home.)