Monday, January 16, 2012
Together--poem by Dorothy
Together
We decided to do it together,
my new friend and I,
she had arrived here
recently,
didn’t know many people,
and I, carless,
was glad for the good company
as well as the ride.
And so we headed out to the
old Chautauqua center,
one of the few still going
in the country,
set at the bottom of a great mountain,
where a massive upheaval once
occurred,
and now a place much frequented
by hikers and sight seers,
particularly on days
like these.
when the sun was bright,
polished coins glinting
on autumn boughs.
We started low
(on my account),
where the trail did not climb,
but meandered flat
along the base,
sinuous as a snake,
easy walking,
gorgeous views
of mountains
carved from eternity.
I told her to go ahead,
not wait for me,
I wasn’t really expecting much
from this venture
beyond some healthy exercise,
when suddenly
I paused
and then it happened,
I was swallowed by
a stillness,
a silence so vast
I thought I had
fallen
into a deep well
of quietude,
where nothing existed,
not me,
not things,
not God,
only the mountains
austere in the distance
and the hollow spaces that held
me now.
Dorothy Walters
January 15, 2012
