Travel Poems 2018
The Great Sculptor
Majestic peaks of chiseled stone
Weathered by wind and water over eons
Your thundering image awe-inspiring
Your grandeur unfathomable
Ancient red rock and Navajo sandstone
Carved by Time, the great sculptorA Birch Tree
Arriving in a forest site
Surrounded by birch and pine trees
I felt that everything was aware
And the birch tree told me
To see through nature’s eyes
And that our bodies,
Were made of the same substanceKaibab Forest Morning
Dew drops on grass
Glistening sunlight
A symphony of bird song
The sweet smell of earth
A good day to be aliveSunrise in Fairyland Canyon
Hoodoos speckle the landscape
Slender stone towers
Guard ancient mysteries
A crack of light welcomes the new day
Glorious, magnificent sun rays
Stretch and color the sandstone
With gold and orange huesShoshone Falls
Water crashes some two hundred feet below
Yielding and powerful
Falling in slow motion
Vaporizing downward
Finding strength in surrenderOregon Badlands
Precious silence
Cast over the Oregon high desert
All of nature listens
Sweet Sage brush and Juniper trees
A pink horizon at dusk
A slice of moon
The earth turns once again
In effortless rhythmLake Todd
A crystal blue lake
Reflecting a spotless sky
Windswept grass
Adorned by flowers
Purple, yellow, and red
Sweet serenityTumalo Falls
A stream
Soft and yielding
Overcomes all obstacles
May we trust when we enter the rapids
Surrender to waterfalls
And remember that we are moving
Ever onwardWillamette Forest
A thick forest canopy
Of ancient trees
Covered in green moss
Holding centuries secrets
Calm water
Flows nearby
Lulling all creatures to sleep
Welcoming the night
As light fadesShasta
Dragonflies zig zagging in hidden patterns
Over a backdrop of colored clouds in myriad shapes
A slice of orange, a wave of purple
Soft music drifting through the air
While Mount Shasta rests in the distance
Overlooking this wonder