Sunday, September Sunday … Outdoors,
Like an early page from The Appalachian Book of the Dead,
Sunlight lavishes brilliance on every surface,
Doves settle, surreptitious angels, on tree limb and box branch,
A crow calls, deep in its own darkness,
Something like water ticks on
Just there, beyond the horizon, just there, steady clock …
Reading through some stuff for a school project, I came across a poem by Charles Wright called “The Appalachian Book of the Dead,” and some lines in it — because this is what happens sometimes when you allow yourself to read — arrested me and my chukar-on-the-brain-ness. The beginning of the poem, above, intersects with catalogs of my Hells Canyon chukar hunting memory. But it’s the end of the poem that really does it for me, brings it home in all the activity’s weirdness, struggling with the meaning of hunting and competing mortalities, the effort put into it, the miracle of motion, the season changes, and — mostly — the terrain…
I feel like I’m constantly trying to answer the question for myself, “Why this?” Finding things like this poem, which I don’t “understand” really, helps articulate possible answers, and that’s satisfying. What are you searching for, not just when you’re out there, but — even more — afterward?
Really nice Bob. As a UCLA Alum and English major, I have barely enough (but enough!) linguistic sensitivity to appreciate these insights. I havenāt been out this year, probably because Jessie is gone but I will get out very soon. Jessie is doing really well with her new owner in Durango, CO and I get regular photo updates. She has hunted ptarmigan which is certainly new for her and she has done a great job showing her 18 mo old āsiblingā how it should be done. I think she will be in South Dakota this month for pheasant. Sheās getting lots of exercise and has 3 others dogs around her. Sheās learning what it’s like to not always be the center of attention. Probably good for her. Thanks again for your help in finding such a great home for her.
Enjoyed!
Really beautiful. And moving.