Narrows in
The valley steepens
Clouds draw low
The road unmapped
The way obscured
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
The wind
It shakes me up
It shakes me down
I’ve been standing
In the still air
Far too long
I need
To get
Ruffled
Click open
Wait (tick tick tick)
Twenty seconds wait
Click closed
Repeat
I watch the universe
In subtle motion
While my camera freezes time
When time came
Truth was a flood
Which swept the world clean
And like the river Nile
After the waters recede
Fertile ground remained
A gift
Of the tide
Of reckoning
On a world
Of alien beauties
We’ve given familiar names
So not to feel
So far from home
We lost a good one this week in Canada, Gordon Downie, frontman, lyricist, songwriter for The Tragically Hip, a Canadian rock powerhouse. In the 80s and 90s, they were probably my favourite band.
This song, Courage (for Hugh MacLennan), has always resonated deeply with me. In 1998, while spending six months bicycling across China, it inspired this blog post from the road. As it turns out, with all that’s going on in the world right now, it proves a timely reminder to get back on the path of love and light and insight. It was a path Gordon Downie forged and followed vigorously, right up to the very end.
Here’s to you, Gordon. And thanks, again, for all the insight.
I miss the uncluttered I
Standing alone
In an expanse of sand