In the valley’s deepest shadows
There’s a river running west
Fir and pine track the rises
I am its lonely guest

Gazing over eastward
Tanned cliffs jut in and out
Bone white veins and boulders
Form an entrance to the south

I watch a single bird
Wing and glide from far away
Soon joined by two or three
To strengthen the array

When the leader passes
Where I stand amid the stone
His belly’s brilliant red
Is like a vestment or a throne

The air fills with humming
And there’s trailing in the sky
As thousands of red bellies
Fill my vision, eye to eye

It feels like a procession
An ancient ritual seen before
An ushering of the light
The opening of a door

I withdraw into a silence
To witness and reflect
The pureness of its mystery
Its promise I accept