October Retreat

The world has come to a stop and is waiting for me.
        Powdered mountains shouldering the sky
             tower over creek beds running low.
    Late Aspen, yellow popsicles standing stubborn
                      against luminous groves
                 hold tightly onto colored cloaks
    while daylight surrenders meekly to frosty nights.
                   Pinon and Juniper, old friends
       perch like green gumdrops on sturdy slopes
           while Rabbitbrush, spent and powdery
touch down on earnest terrain like scattered cloud puffs.

    Families of scratchy Serviceberry and Gambel Oak
                      stand clustered together
             peering down into the pasture below.
          bands of coyotes positioned strategically
                     from one ridge to another
       send their singing signals into the sleepy night.
             Elk, deer, magpie, fox, eagle and bear
             take their place in the order of things
 while the cottontail stops by each day to check on me.
  The air is still, the stars are bright, and heaven is blue.
                     Banded waves of glowing,
                  blond grasses listen to what is.

               Together in all their instinctive ways,
          they are asking me to join them for a spell.
                "It doesn't matter now," they say.
                 "whether you started or finished,
                    the long toil of a life can wait.
                         Lay your burdens down,
                       give your shoulders a rest,
                 the sky will hold itself up for you.

                           Perch here with us
                 and turn your face to the sun.
   Allow the frost of worry behind your eyes to melt
                        so joy can turn green.
              Listen for the singing of your soul
              to help you remember what it was
                    that was so very important.

       Allow yourself to peer down into your heart
                          where the truth lies
                          blond and glowing.
                        Let your spirit float up
                     to join the clouds passing
               in the cornflower blue of the sky
        to remember that yesterday & tomorrow
                don't belong in this moment.
         Take your place in the order of things.
                        Embrace everything.
                            This is your life."