Alpine Chiaroscuro
Alpine Chiaroscuro (poem)
How great to see
the tundra so green
studded with flowers
bright, crisp and clean
just a few weeks after
being in hot and misty
tropical Florida with
snakes and bugs and swamps.
How great to see
grazing elk high
above tree line
silhouetting the sky.
How great to see
the Never Summer Range
blanketed with snow
under a golden alpine glow.
How great to see
marmots whistling such
piercing notes while
they scamper on
lichen-covered rocks
only weeks after
dazing heat of
South Florida where
insects buzz and eat
wilting grass stalks.
How great to take
your dog for walks
up in the fresh mountain
air and to slide
down a bright white
snowfield to the
open tundra where
shiny yellow buttercups
push right through
thin layers of snow
melting into tiny
streams slaking thirst
of bighorn sheep,
all very much part of
living alpine dreams.
Rockies
Have you been above treeline?
Rocky Mountain National Park
© 2014 Richard Francis Fleck
