Martin Willitts, Jr.

The "Crags"

Alpine firs entrench their long roots
up glaciers into the thinness soil
a climber driving a spike & fastening 
 
safety ropes into subzero air,
the firs removing only half its leaves.
a climber removing some coat 
 
as they heat up during the ascent, the air
impossible to breath, and there: 
a Fool’s Huckleberry holds moisture in dry winds
 
among sedges that have died down
to subterranean stem-tips for autumn
as if going into a deep hibernation


© 2008 Martin Willitts, Jr.