Ring of Fire

 
There are mere seconds between brushed steps  
and fractured elements in the forest; we pause,  
reflect its cyclic life from our meager perspective;  
catalog bewildering discoveries for future forages.
 
Cobras of condensation snake upward, curl from  
the baskets of our solar plexus, bellows fueled
by shallow breaths expelling into the twilight  
from this simple human experience into nature.
 
We honor the gentle Spirit of Solitude, its thick  
mantle of silence sealing our lips from speech;  
we stop, listen to colonies of moisture breaking  
camp to trickle from thawing burrows of bark.  
 
Suddenly, we’re camouflaged animals, motionless
from a predator who might detect any movement.  
Through the emerging mist of distanced trees  
a pinprick ruptures, forms a solar Ring of Fire.
 
Emotions are ignited, our resolve falls from orbit;  
A thousand miles away, the Pacific basin shifts --
quakes beneath the souls of our stilled presence.
Light particles burst, fall as confetti in a parade.  
~
 
Photo by J'Clark Images