Published in Premier Issue of Human/Kind Journal Jan 2019
Awarded Pushcart Nominee
 

Away and Within
Youth. Idealized freedom, a time of rustic camping among trees, mountain vistas, the breath of earth—when nature held me closest to rapture. Did I consider a Maker? In retrospect, what held more sway was the power of away and within; a ritual of trees and sky, and experimentation, when raw euphoria was key to my spiritual experience.
We were, after all, flower children. Once, on a mountain hike near Aspen, when all ingredients were conducive, my heart sang. My senses were heightened by the roar and ripple of creeks, ethereal mid-day mountain light, and warmth of the baking grasses and stone, thrill of birdsong. In an illusory moment, I only received. Much later, I would learn to return the blessing.

my life within gardens-
was it escape,
or deeper digging?