Running into Grace

(big smiles after my first win - Harder'n Hell 1/2 - Oct 2010)

If I run another race,
Will I gain another Grace?
To keep a soulful smile
On a tired but happy face?

(real tears after finishing 8th in Equinox, Sep 2010 - copyright: Daily NewsMiner, Fairbanks, AK 2010)

Três Volcanoes Dance in Loneliness

(Pico de Popocatépetl, Mexico, Dec 2007,
as seen from Pico de Iztaccihuatl)

Canta, veja
Cinder ruptures the lonely
Um, dois, três
Magma smothers all sense
Sozinha, solteria
Eruptions rip heart's core
Bata o congo
Lava intoxicates stimulation
Apaixanda
Volcanic ashes fall to lust
Dança da solidão

(Pico de Orizaba, Mexico, Dec 2007)

Selection is Natural, So They Say

Selected as a sacrificial child for the gods
Never to know freedom, only to accept fate,
Trapped as a dolphin caught in a tuna net
Floundering for air, only to drown,
Pinned as a zebra calf taken by the lion
Calling out for help, only to be left behind,
Ensnared as a moose cornered by the wolf pack
Fighting back for life, only to be devoured,
Caged as a songbird that only wants to sing
Singing for hours, only to have wings clipped,
Gated as a branded heifer put to pasture
Grazing for survival, only to be slaughtered,
Tangled as a butterfly wing in a spider web
Fluttering for escape, only to be prey,
Natural selection takes it toll, one has to go.


Selecting to destroy the datalogger
Apr 2009

Geometric Memories

The three-sided summit rises sharp and wily,
Corniced creatures stretch to touch the void,
A stable slope holds from slipping into freedom,
Fresh powder on slab compresses the past,
Footprints kicked w/ silent suffering drift in,
Retraced steps tramp freely on crust,
Traipsing along place, time, moment,
Captured on film and over-exposed,
Always pausing to measure the angle.

Assessing the angles on Triangle Peak (Apr 2009)

TrevO cuts a line up first slope.

My turn to break trail.

Fun w/ the sun.

Corniced creatures thwart the attempt
to reach the three-sided summit.

A Silverback's Silvertip

(Silvertip Mtn, Delta Range - Sept 2008)

Rime encrusted steel points,
Settle icy awakenings.
Frail whispers patiently warm,
Crystalline blowing clouds.
Blended vistas framed in gray,
Tear squinting eyes.
Frozen pink valleys divide,
Sight, sound, route.
Precarious, precipitous rock falls,
Crumble, skip, hop.
Clamoring creeks coolly cascade,
Meditative Zen gardens.
Silverback ravaged earthly aromas,
Stain nylon green.

(Flood Creek, Delta Range - Sept 2008)

(Approaching N. Ridge of Michael Creek - Sept 2008)