Monday, July 11, 2011

AN OLD MEMORY



For lack of a topic for this post, I found this tidbit which I had jotted down years ago. So I m going to print it just as I wrote it then.



It is an unfinished poem I was composing as I drove the car on a trip and Bill tried to write it down. I know words are missing and we haven't refined it or got it right, but I have been carrying it in my purse for so long on an old envelope that I did copy it down to preserve it for future work.

It is about the time we were in Estes Park, Colorado and just as we were leaving I saw a car stoppd by the side of the road. I looked and a glorious herd of elk were coming down from the woods into the town. I didn't have a camera. Many more people stopped and took pictures. I almost gave one of them some money and my address and asked them to send me a shot of the scene, but I never did and have regretted it ever since.

Apparently it is quite common for there is a preserve nearby and I understand it occurs every rutting season. One lady told me in the grocery store that the elk had gathered outside their church one Sunday and they were bugeling so loudly they had to cancel the service.

That day also I saw my first white Mountain Goat high up on a sort of shelf as we went by. He stood out in the sunshine like a white god and I was thrilled at the sight of him. It was a miraculous day.

Here is my description of the Elks:

And there they emerged from the wood
Materializing where before there had been nothing.
Yet the wild things were surely and slowly
Softly picking their way down the hill
God's gorgeous four-legged creatures.

But wait! Here comes their King! Who with every movement displays
Royalty and the mantle of command;
His rack is large and has many branches
His head heavy with its weight.

No matter he is old and infirm
Deference and honor belong to him
And he knows it and glories in it
Because he knows that his strength
Lies in past victories of wars won.

This is all she wrote folks. Can you see what I saw that day?

9 comments:

yaya said...

Between the poem and your lovely memory written for us to read, I can imagine that scene. I've been lucky in my lifetime to witness nature out west and in Alaska that just took my breath away. I sorry you don't have a photo, but I think the one inscribed in your mind is just as beautiful!

Pat said...

I can and I did! Thanks for the image!

Wanda..... said...

I see it perfectly through your lovely poem, Bernie. It doesn't need refined...I wouldn't add or change a word if I were you.

June said...

Oh yes, I see it.
Especially the king moving among his subjects...

Anita said...

Yes, I do see your majestic creatures. I marvel at your ability to describe them and their habitat with such beauty. I see where Julie gets her talent. :)

Deb Shucka said...

I felt like I was there with you. I remember the first time I saw a herd of elk, and it felt just like this.

MunirGhiasuddin said...

The poem is beautiful and the pictures are very clear. An Elk is indeed an example of God's beautiful creatures. Thanks for sharing:)

Midlife Roadtripper said...

Sounds like a beautiful site to behold. Lovely memory and image.

Angie said...

Thought I would drop by and say hello. You created some beautiful imagery with your words in this poem. I had a catch up too ...had to smile at the manakins in that garden and your ?sons remark about feeling like St Francis ...take care of your self ...mind you I think you get more out of life than I do and I'm 20 years your junior!!! xx

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