They lay heavy over the earth here once hundreds of feet thick Riding the eroded volcanic ridge Itself the ruin of millions year older Pyroclastic flows Down from mountain crest Leaving Rounded granite boulders Larger than tables Carried from Donner Peak, miles away Crumbs To this ancient white monster Scattered just below Ridge's edge
Now it is pillar saint Jeffrey Pine flat-topped, limbs sculpted Into grand upward gestures Recumbent manzanita and huckleberry oak Massive old Junipers Berries ready for harvest Volcanic gargoyle pillars Carved into ridge's lee side Conglomerate torsos, arches, fists ...And I, who am Dancer on this parapet line Between watersheds Yuba - American Their long-lost ice streams flowing still as ghosts filling the open spaces of wide canyon.
17 November 2019 Razorback Ridge-Crows Nest, 7,500-7,900' High cirrus and blue sky
Mountaineity 