Tomorrow is International Human Rights Day. We'll celebrate upcountry - for a poetry workshop assignment. Human right to roam... with shepherd-dog Loki, of course. Here's from our last trip to the Forest:
Walk Free
Drive up a steep one-lane with no shoulder,
track cut thru tangles of brush. National Forest
belongs to all of us. Find a wide spot - a landing.
Park. Let the dog out, no leash laws here.
No fences/locked gates/signs against Trespass.
Walk among ponderosa, sugar pine, incense cedar,
black and live oak. Everlasting still in bloom.
Bear clover, manzanita coming back after fire.
Bountiful nature. Deer prints on game trail.
Raven calls. Climb to a high spot, look around.
Green verges to lavender across the gorge.
So high! River out of sight, far below.
Thanks for this land that's open
for walking free!
~ Taylor Graham
