The Volcanoes of Haleakala

[The volcanoes of Haleakala, in Hawaii, photo taken by my second cousin,
Lindsay Knitter, who stood on a cliff high above them,
her head in the clouds of heaven, her feet on the earth.]

posted for the Poets United Thursday Think Tank prompt: wings

Beam me up, Scotty,
from the drop-sheets
and the painting,
the hammering ,
the barking, displaced
and disgruntled dogs.
Let's glide up and over
the mountains
to the
sea all
wreathed in
fog,
all earth's
beauty
waiting
for us
down below,
the waves
beneath us
rolling in,
endless
and slow,
its shoreline
holding
all the beauty
that I know.

Then down
to Oregon's
dramatic
rock-strewn
beach,
catch the
currents,
windsurfing the sky,
midst beauty
rare
we'll  soar,
until we reach
the volcanoes
of Haleakala,
find us a firm place
to land,
perch on the edge
of this legendary place,
its ancient mysteries
try to
understand.

Then lift us up
and away,
across the Andes,
swooping down
their slopes
to buzz the treetops
of the Amazon,
hear the parrots
making all their
squawking cries,
part the
palm fronds,
let in
some light
from those
uncertain
ever-changing
jungle skies.

Then let's
cross the sea
to Africa,
beloved country,
soar across
the bare brown plains
of the Serengeti,
pause to watch
the wildebeeste,
huge elephants
lumbering
through the sand,
as  tawny lions
make their way
across
the living land.

Let's coast the sky
above more
swirling seas,
whitecaps below,
let's catch
the ocean breeze
to Asia,
with its temples,
its Mystic Mountains                 
round and still,
mandarins
tending rice paddies
along the
terraced hills.

And then away
to cross
the Russian steppes,
frozen archipelago
reflect its
icy glow,
for it is time
to make
our wayward
journey home.
I see it
waiting there
for me
below.

When we arrive,
just beam me down,
revived,
where I'll slip on
my metaphorical
monk robes,
like the tired monk
has said,
enter
my newly spotless,
freshly painted
little home,
my dogs once more
at ease
on their dog beds,
I with my book,
a grateful Om
that clearly
must be said,
then Silence,
lovely silence,
all around.
Home,
where
safety,
peace
and quietude
abound.