Drake's Passage

I will return to these shores
One far-off night,
Wander the same trackless way
We walked together so many times,
Elk sounding from the far side of the slough,
Some wary warbler whispering from the hedge,
The dog decoding the rise of the nocturne.
You raced my heart around the Horn,
Dragged the river for my silences,
Wearing a face of ravaged delight,
All the days between then and then,
The one behind, the many ahead.
I replay your tears, your practiced yearnings,
I find small shrines scattered about your forest.
No, I will not bow before them, after much consideration,
Will instead pay homage to the passing drake,
Circling effortless above the quiet waters,
Alone for those unspeakable moments,
Before the wind brings word of his love
From the deep boundlessness of their world.