SageGreenJournal.org voices out of the West, mostly poetry, personal to planetary...
Wayne Merry
Atlin, British Columbia, Canada
Wayne Merry's name is familiar to anyone who knows the history of American rock climbing, and its Mecca, Yosemite Valley. A pioneer climber in what we now think of as the golden age of Yosemite climbing, Wayne was one of the team that made the first ascent of the Nose of El Capitan. In later years Wayne has opted for a quieter but equally powerful wilderness environment and has long lived on the shores of a beautiful Atlin Lake in British Columbia.
He's found his poetic medium in an English-language version of linked Tankas, a traditional Japanese verse form.
Winter Coming
aspen’s gold has flown
greyness owns all earth and sky
we long for light
snow can not come soon enough
white will light our world again
dark limbs wave helpless
arguing with icy wind
pull the chair closer
pine chunks crackle in the stove
stretch toward the sun’s old warmth
hard frost furs the roof
north breeze hurries mist southward
I blink sleep away
savoring rich coffee scent
planning now for coming snow
the first flakes drift in
perch on the deck and cling there
we dig in the closet
wool and fleece are warm to touch
down can wait for sharper cold
all is white at dawn
new snow muffles earth and sound
turn from the window
find the skis in the rafters
waiting for that first long glide
put back the new skis
lacking soul of living wood
pull down the wood skis
torch in the bubbling pine tar
inhale taste of winters past
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