Bev Rennie

JAMES ANDREWS

Manzanita

Following a trail at Point Lobos
I come upon it
suddenly
a living flame of red amidst the coastal shrub,
solitary

its bark peeling from sculpted branches,
caught in their turning by the August sun
revealing burnished
copper

I catch my breath,
my hand, tentative,
touches the living wood,
follows the hidden notes of an earth long here
and I hear a song
I had forgotten.

I follow the trail to China Beach
leaving behind the
manzanita
singing.

Hiking in the Ventana Wilderness

Mountain snowmelt plummets
over boulders
heaved by earth’s tectonic thrusts

courses over
rocks
hewn by ice and racing water
channeled within earthen banks.

Stones
polished by the Big Sur River
flow
invite a crossing to our campsite.

Boots
laced up and ready
give confidence

falsely.

First steps yield to
the slick surface
and the ankle twists
in pain.

Where is the benign Mother now?

The running ice stream answers
Here!

Tomorrow
carrying the wisdom of flowing waters
I will walk.

Where Sunlight Lives

A light breeze wafts
through the garden

lavender blossoms yield willingly
to the nectar thirsting honey bees

a hummingbird hovers above
to honor their homecoming.

Tomorrow there will be honey
again.

James Andrews