Pahaska Night

A long expedition

on the unending, rough road

finally ends;

My family arrives at

Yellowstone’s threshold,

a community of Pahaska cabins

nestled quietly in the Shoshone;

The dark night embraces my fatigue,

the cabin beckons me

inside to the wobbly bed

on which I plop down effortlessly;

A light hangs still from the wooden ceiling

shining too brightly into

my half-closed eyes;

The dusty atmosphere

clogs my nostrils

Desiring fresh air

I grab a folding chair

and set it outside the cabin

to experience nature around me;

A howling mountain breeze

brushes the quiet grass, chilling my skin

to wrinkle like uneven earth;

My teeth chitter

of the cold;

Of the blessed mosquitoes

torturous, sucking my fluid,

they escape the wrath

of my hands slapping;

Of the curious fox tiptoeing

inaudibly towards me;

My hair erects abruptly,

but eventually relaxes

as the fox trots into the forest

far from me

Soon my fears ebb;

My ears unseal

to attend the music;

Amidst the chilly breezes

the leaves rustle like pendulums

weaned from their mother trees

to kiss the earth as the wind howls;

I stand, heeding the nearby stream

cascading into the rocks,

the mellifluous melody

matures; the peace gladdens me,

clothed by coming sleep

and chirping crickets,

hooting owls

Yet, my eyes enlarge

at the cloudless night sky

doming over the thicket around me

my mouth opens for the stars

bundled into hordes of shiny candies

descending down to tickle

my tongue’s surface;

The universe overwhelms me,

the sight plunges me to the ground;

I yelp, and my thoughts

are tamed to confusion,

silence

Then, gradually, from all around me

in the midst of silence

I hear all music at once

The rustling leaves, the cascading stream,

the chirping crickets, the hooting owls,

and the howling breezes harmonize

into a singular song;

I sigh in wonder, understanding

that all nature is sole

I look back at our cabin

now slumbering deeply

and fold my chair

and walk into the cabin to sleep;

I fall onto the bed softly

and close my eyes

to drown myself in the harmony