Salmon River Gulf Loop By Jake St. John

On these trails 

blanketed by leaves

and pine needles 

that lay like soft memories 

I hike the valleys 

of my soul 

shadows drift down 

upon me 

with the gentleness 

of your lips 

I stand on the shores 

of the river 

as it gurgles 

empty thoughts to me 

sunlight broken up 

and mirrored

on its back

and finally 

I say out loud

"Oh Bodhisattva!

You have taught me again!"

but it doesn't stop

and smile at me

it just continues on

uninterrupted over 

and around stones

molded by persistence

and years

disappearing 

in fog.

Jake St. John spends nights in a fort on the edge of the woods.  He is the author of several collections of poetry including Snow Moon (Holy & Intoxicated Publications, 2019), Lost City Highway (A Jabber Publication, 2019) and Working Man’s Odyssey (Analog Submission Press, 2018). His poems have appeared in print and online journals around the world.

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