Epistemic Purchase

You walk out under gunmetal grey stratus;
overcast.

Dusky footed woodrats nest rock outcrops,
orange velvet algae and lace lichen drape ancient Cypress,
crows harry a red tailed hawk,

Seals bask on sea stacks;
In kelp, otters,
In coves, Sea wolves; lobos,
And the spindrift charged wind.

In wet forests, by the beautiful
red fly agaric, amanita muscaria
I decay to moss and broken bark,
while you step over fallen logs and find
your path has become a stream, returning to ocean's edge.

The beds of white quartz sand,
In brown sea shaped sandstone curves a nude figure,
Hunched conglomerates of chaos and stone, and
granite headlands: trees cling to them like eternity.

(note to myself)

At 5:37 pm on January 9th, 2005
dusk sun comes out,
at western horizon.
For a moment it's as if time stops and the surface of the sea is a
crumpled sheet of silver.