Mountain Snows in Late Spring

Mountain Snows in Late Spring

Once more I reach for points of knife edged peaks.
Black ridges sparkle in the piercing light
Of late Spring. Sharp snows scabbard the honed rocks,
And circling raptors scan in hungry flight.
Reflected sparks of brilliant sun contract
My pupils, and swift, icy breezes stir
Stands of naked trees, and shake their black
Boughs with deep prescience of the pregnant year.
Today I will not walk through burgeoning
Buds and golden bursts of rising sun.
I will not crane my neck as the birds sing
The chirping Latin of their orison.
No, I'll root my feet in solid ground,
And answer the dark thrush's antiphonal sound.