Pondering Ravens

January 21st, 2009 Author: Steven

“Pondering Ravens”

Glancing skyward
Where cloud mountains grow,
Dark specks appear on the white.
Bodiless shadows,
Black as space,
Circle high in the sky above.
Hundreds circling,
Giving shape to the
invisible thermal
On which they ride,
Circling higher, higher
And higher still,
Until finally they break.
Like children released from school,
They scatter about.
Chasing, spinning, diving,
Rolling and playing
In all directions away they fly.
Leaving the clouds to grow,
And me
To ponder.
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I don’t normally comment on my poems, but I want to tell you a little bit about this one. The scene that inspired this poem is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. It happened in the Owens Valley near the Tungsten Hills. There were hundreds of ravens circling on a heat thermal that was rising up from the valley. You could clearly see the thermal and the rotation of it because of all the birds. I’ve seen flocks of ravens do this before, but never in these numbers. The birds kept riding the thermal higher and higher until you could barely see the highest ones.

Then all at once, they broke from the thermal and flew away in all directions.  As they were flying away the ravens began playing. They were chasing each other, diving, doing flips and spinning, it was like school had been let out and summer vacation had started. Within 10 minutes of the birds breaking from the thermal, there wasn’t a raven to be seen anywhere. They were all gone.

The raven tends to get a bad rap from people. If you study them though, you find that they are a very interesting and unique bird. This isn’t the only time that I’ve been fascinated by their behavior.  There have been many times that I’ve been left pondering ravens.

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Climb to Heaven

November 17th, 2008 Author: Steven

“Climb to Heaven”

Hiking up a steep
mountain pass trail,

11,000 High Sierra feet.

Breathing hard, and yet
hardly breathing.

Thin air up here.

Sweat pouring down face
drips into eyes.

Burns real good.

Never ending switchbacks
climb forever.

Forever to heaven?

Squished a skeeder feeding
on my arm.

Showed him who’s boss!

Buzz-fly keeps buzzing
around my head.

Swing and a miss (strike two).

Tried cursing, but trail
just got steeper.

Pissed it off I guess.

Heart’s pumping hard,
calf’s burning good.

Mind……. bye, bye.

Trail’s less steep now,
flattening out.

The end is near.

Soul spirit soaring
I reach the top.

Kick back, enjoy the view.

Eat a little water,
drink a little salami.

Taste better up here.

Lay down, close eyes,
Relax on nice, soft granite.

Welcome to heaven.

(This isn’t the way this poem should look. But I couldn’t get it to format right.)

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Autumn Dreams

October 7th, 2008 Author: Steven

Found this old poem of mine and thought that it was very fitting right now.

“Autumn Dreams”

I walk amongst
The heart of the aspens
Bathing in the golden memories
Of their autumn dreams.

Dreams that drift
Along the edge of awareness,
Awakening the nightfall
That heralds the beginning
Of their deep winter sleep.

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The Call of the Rain

September 14th, 2008 Author: Steven

It’s the second straight day of rain here in the Midwest as the remnants of Hurricane Ike move into the area.  Looking through my poems this morning, I Found this one I wrote in ‘96 on a rainy day in Bishop. It’s kind of fitting today.

“The Call of the Rain”

The damp fingertips of raindrops
Tap lightly on my window
Asking if I would like to play.

Tempting me with fresh
Spashing puddles and
Squishy mud, they call
To my unconscious,

“Come out,

Join our soggy party.
Let the tears of God
Quench the civilized thirst
Of your soul and
Send your spirit soaring
Above our clouds.

Come,
Dance to our fluid rhythm
And flood your heart
With our songs of freedom.

Come,

my friend,

Come.”

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