Listening to Lagunitas Creek

Early, between dawn and mist
Above water
below shadowed maple, within
woods’ voiceless hush
Canary leaves fall
Listen

Up this canyon,
In the rocky crook above,
The whispered lake rests
I climbed there once, at midnight
Broad watery cheek
Caressed by moonlight
Canoed, I slid over the skin of its smooth
weight and wondrous deep
Peering into clarity
Dark dewdrop in the rocky palm of the mountain
In the hollow stone hand
Could you hold such weight
Or this vast clearness long?

From that lake it springs,
Little Lagunitas Creek
Laughter loosed from silence
Slides down round stones under maples
Under branches loosing last leaves
Gentle giggle, soft song, water whisper

Listening deeper, deeper
Breath slows till it floats,
Hovers, just barely
Between maple leaves

Hear: within the singing water,
the lake’s ancient stillness.
Listen — beneath the lively wavelets,
the darkness beyond moonlight
Cock your ear, you’ll catch it
The silence holding sound
The mountain holding lake

Oh, and the playful dance!
Wavelet over salmon scale
Sand spit over round rock,
Hidden

Fall into water, to the clear, luminous space
where oxygen and hydrogen mate
Where the notion of freshness was born
with water
Run down stream, slip into maple root where
water dashes,
Rush, water, up trunks!
Bound, brook,
through branches!
Burst from leaves
back to sky, swept high
to kiss space, caress light
Before falling, raindrop to dark lake

That, I’ve heard, is what the stream
sings about.

Listen

Garth Gilchrist 2013

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