The View From Above

source: Sierra Club

You once took me up

in a small plane.

We looked down on

all the islands, small and large.

From our lofty perch,
we caught our breath
to see

the gigantic outline of

a resting grey whale,

adrift in the feeding grounds
of Ahous Bay.

One day we walked the trail
across Vargas,
me stopping at every leaf and fern
to exclaim,
you worried we would miss
the outgoing tide.
(We did, and had to row hard
back across the channel.)

Now you have left this earth.

What do you see from above?

Do you see me, still hobbling about,

mouth dropped in wonder

at one more unfolding spring?

Are you glad I continue
to pen words,

that I still find you

in sunrises and sunsets
as I always did,

that even though you are gone,

your presence in my life

still shines as golden

as it ever was, when we walked

these wild beaches

together? 

The view from above
must be

 just another way

to love this earth.

Day 16