witness: rough draft

 at the end of the road there's a trail:

hard left, then climb up the mountain

past the split-legged juniper 

around the crowding alder thicket impossible,

then sidehill: no elevation gained or lost

thread between rock and pine

another climb, steep pinecone alley 

treacherous as ice

at the end (beginning), a spring

wide trickle seeps over thick blue limestone slab 

black-capped chickadees come closer.

look up into towering ponderosas, psuedotsuga 

notice how their red-scale south facing boles, one after another,

face me. 

                staggered near and far along the slope,

keen and curious tree-family peer around shoulders

over heads, watching expectantly.

for a moment i see them see me.

i see them all: the hundreds of tree-beings, the songbirds

the squirrels the rocks the stream

eyes prick bright with tears of relief

i am held.

how could i ever have thought i was alone?