Gentle current
Beneath the ice
Downstream rumbles
Break the crust
And I am freed
No matter
All the miles
I’ll go
The turn for home
Eventually comes
Curves twist back upon themselves
Sheltered from
The wind
A little
Below the cloud
Upon the land
This restful haven
To which I return
No matter how far
Astray
I wander
I seek
But carry always
This fair land
Which speaks my heart
Which I am, in all my being
On a world
Of alien beauties
We’ve given familiar names
So not to feel
So far from home
But we’d brought our seeds
Planted our trees
Spread our grasses
Harvested the carbon
To surface the roads
To refine the fuel
To run our cars
Until
But for a few facts
Of geology
Meteorology
And astronomy
It was a world
Just like home
But never left
My own backyard
Nor taxed my powers
Of creation
Just let Nature
Take her course
Then revel in
Her machinations
On the Sound
A sheen of cobalt and amber
Twilight
Cloud light
The last burning ember
A city beyond
Awaiting, my home
Hearthlight
Heart light
The end of my roam
Not for its familiarity
Nor for its comforts
Nor even its dull grey beauty
But for its being
An integral part
Of my being
Some with regret
And, some, disdain
Though most with neither
This nor that
I think not
Of the world I’m in
The present
Not this very day
But all the worlds
I’ve yet to see
Which will also
Fall behind
