“Encounter”

My solo canoe expeditions were not simply journeys to the wilderness, but journeys to my interior self. In an attempt to convey these experiences, I offer two of my writings, “Encounter” and “Migrations,” that I paired with Photoshop collages—constructed in an attempt to address the question so often posed by my friends, “How does it feel?”

Encounter

A shadow lopes.
Slung low.
Ears erect.
Eyes narrow.
Scenting airborne messages
this sentinel
prowls the shoreline.
He halts.
Our eyes lock.
Captives of curiosity,
we are suspended.
Sharing heartbeats . . . .
Exiting the moment,
he resumes his patrol
while his spirit lingers
in the moon and the clouds.
Reluctantly,
I drift down river.
Forever changed.

Poem & PHOTO by DICK Anderson