Saddlebag Lake

 

The trail winds up
beyond the lake,
a glistening mirror
where mountains streaked with snow
edge the dark blue sky.

We hike past wildflowers,
tree trunks, boulders,
pine trees lifting greenest needles to the sky,
and snow drifts
ribbed like sparkling dunes
from warm sunlight and icy winds.

We push ahead,
stop to drink,
photograph,
eat cherries.

I rest a moment at the top,
leaning on the branches of a fallen tree,
look out at silvery lake below,
snow gleaming on its mountain arms,
shadowed rocks suspended under radiant sky.
Quickly, I calculate stops and speeds,
choose exposure,
fire the shutter, just so,
just where I want to be,
doing what I set out to do.

Now I can go down
the winding trail
to rest,
content
with who I am-
becoming.

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