Twilit artifice
Sunset muzzled by smoke
From distant fires
Rosy sky
Pastel remnants
Of celestial fire
River echoes
Light and land and life
Fuels reflective fire
Rosy sky
Pastel remnants
Of celestial fire
River echoes
Light and land and life
Fuels reflective fire
Crossing terrain and distance
The minutes pass as days once did
For greater men than me
When only Prometheus
Had tested the sky
The land rolls by
All the while stoking awe
Not just for historical men
Bound to Earth
Also for this small speck of stone
This mote of blue
With its invisible billions
In an incomprehensible emptiness
Then, awe too for this small speck of flesh
His hubris of no small magnitude
Believing he matters at all
For the mere fact of knowing his existence
His feeble attempt for eternity
Words released into the twin fantasies
Of consciousness and silicone
Now what is near
Seems quite clear
But far from here
Is more obscure
Detail lost
Colour sallowed
Though sun breaks through
Its presence mellowed
Yet, still
Though here demurred
Occluding smoke
Smothers valley’s depth and scale
Still, upon a closer look
The trees, a ridge
A jagged line
And then another
Slight serrated edge
The third and fourth both smoother still
So scale restored
I can imagine depth, at least
As this choking smoke occludes my breath
Insistent weather brings
To harry mountains
Obscure the scene
I travelled far
Intent to see
But…
Soon enough
Beguile me
They dance and play
Revealing games
A silken veil
May hide the charms
But, no, no … please!
Don’t take it off