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at the starry gate
what other entry way
should I choose
the east side
or the far right
standing at the gate
it seemed the sun
was blinding
after traveling through the night
I'd found my way
far to the left
this side of the west
when the wind spoke about the day
I heard a whisper
of something sacred
then the mountain roared
I'd come full circle
suddenly that gate was blocked
that domineering mountain
had closed rapture's door
I was searching for a miracle
from there I chose the river
flowing to the north
beyond rugged canyons
through raging rapids
over those precipitous falls
from that chasm's ridge
a voice came to me
asking what I was worth
crawling out of that deep fearful pool
I navigated slippery rocks along that virile trail
my tear filled eyes were shielded
by another blinding veil
perhaps my cautious soul
was yielding
perhaps
I'd lost my needful way
when the stars came out
I thought I heard
the forest cry
finally I imagined
I heard the skillful willows shout
turning me into a lone wolf
making me howl then moan
when the northern lights came out
I felt like I'd been clipped then shorn
freezing in the ice and snow
my intrepid spirit urged me on
as the frigid wind tore at my freezing skin
I kept my wolf head low
as my yellow eyes were freezing shut
just beyond that northern wood
I came upon an abandoned hut
inside I lit a fire
a cold cast iron stove
outside forty below
critical freezing as you know
my wolf claws had turned to fingers
gathered tinder and dry twigs
fuel crackling in welcome flames
still that freezing cold lingered
but my hungry wolf heart rejoiced
just the same
inside that small subarctic cabin
I realized I just might survive
outside the furious winter howled
a tempest with terrible cold
snickering now
knowing I was still alive
I found a scrap of dried meat
hanging from a smoke stained rafter
chewing on some sustenance
swallowing that nourishing morsel
I relaxed and fell into an arctic dream
as a remarkable fire crackled
glowing in that radiant woodstove
finally a last smoking ember died
again I was shackled with numbing cold
I woke with a fumbling start
it was dark and freezing again
I heard a scratching at the cabin door
I laid there still and quiet
upon that dirty cabin floor
once again I heard it
still a dark and frigid night
something ratcheting at the gate
I lay there wondering
if there was another door
some other hidden escape
I wondered if I was dreaming
should I choose
the east side
or stay nestled
I didn't know which was right
then I pictured a hue of gentle blue light
coming through the open cabin door
it seemed a black wolf stood there
outside reflecting winter's dazzling white
inside it was completely dark
so I determined it was night
I knew if the north wind came
if the stark wind would call my name
my intuition told me
that dark lone wolf
would surely lead me
to some faraway garden gate
back to the sacred light
far to the divine south
Uluru suddenly beckoned to me
beyond the dividing equator
south of the tropic of Capricorn
further south than those calm horse latitudes
adding yet another sacred attitude
down to somewhere
perhaps another psalm or balm
that brilliant Southern Cross
hanging in the southern sky
marked sacred song lines
remarking about those ancient knowledge vines
far to the familiar north
Orion with his faithful dogs kept hunting
still I wondered as I journeyed south
what in Heaven's name
ramblings swirled out of my salty mouth
could something on an odyssey
so blessedly far
from its northern berth
some haunted lone wolf like me
what ever could something
like me be worth
* * *
