surrounded by giants
we broke and halted
surrendered to ashy skies
and white laced mountains

let the string of life
for once trail loosely
while spinning it
into the woolen rough
core
of nature’s soul
crystallized
in thin air
spread across glaciers

we
count forests
to count trees
while trailing off
to pale, dimm sunshine
feel how altitude feeds
what no coastal wave
could ever carve out
of the pebbles
of our pathway

it draws attention
to every surface
paints the landslide
with our heavy thoughts
in darker shades

until we’d settled down
until we’d listen.

Listen.

KH