Friday, April 12, 2019

Why the view matters


I never met him, or
even heard of him,
to be honest, until
the day I hiked up
the almost vertical
trail to the bluff.

I could see for miles;
I even heard cows
on the bluff opposite,
across the river.
Not a majestic view
but one embracing
a notion of horizon.

There was a bench
of weathered stone;
this was the bluff
overlook, after all,
so I sat and inhaled.
Drawn to the view
of distance I almost
missed the rock
at my feet, the rock
with an embedded 
plaque, from a family
grateful for a man
who understood why
the view mattered.

Losing the argument
that I should stay,
I walked back 
to where I started,
a part of the silence.

The editors of Tweetspeak Poetry are hosting a 30-Day, 30-Poem Challenge for Earth Month entitled, appropriately enough, Poetic Earth Month. Today, the featured poem is “Father’s Day” by David Wheeler, and the poetry prompt is to write a poem about someone who has influenced your stance toward the natural world. 

Photograph: Inscribed rock at the Overlook Bluff, Shaw Nature Reserve, Franklin County, Missouri. And yes, that's my foot against the rock.

1 comment:

  1. "...a man
    who understood why
    the view mattered"

    I am grateful for such men. Those who embrace a notion of horizon that includes the place where they sit.

    (Really enjoying your 30 Days, 30 Poems Challenge poems, Glynn. :) )

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