Firetrail at Midnight on Mt. Tamalpais
I walk by starlight
up the winding fire-trail
between sandstone and scrub oak,
up to the edge of a terrible cliff
and listen to the waves break
so far below.
The stars explode here
Away from the city glare,
They skitter and hiss
Making me gasp
As they fall from the sky.
I feel several thousand years
Younger, as I pause,
Closed in and breathless
On this moonless night wondering
When I had forgotten the sea
And the stars and roads that wind slowly.
And if I could believe
This road would lead
To other roads and on and on
It would be enough.
© J.L.Stanley
