Three Years In...

On coming to love this place.

Long months I gazed across these hills
The window but a picture framing
Distant beauty, veiled, compelling,
Clear panes nonetheless obscuring;
Glass dividing worlds.

Long days I walked their rocky trails
To feel the chill, the sun's sure rising,
Unsure of rest or meals arriving,
Seasons' slow change still surprising
One who knows not what the signs reveal.

Long nights I heard them sing their mystery
Beneath the specks of light that dot their sides -
Learned early mornings out of doors,
Sandalled feet on earthen kitchen floors,
I'm learning how the year divides.

I know the chores of sunrise and the evening still,
The people and the animals, the flowers and the smells,
The taste of tea with yesterday's milk,
The cheerful conversation's lilt;
I know what the mournful horn betides.

At last the window opens and the breeze bears in
The secrets and the spices of these hills -
Still life like the dawn arising
Rich and moist with all that's living
Riddles with woodsmoke unfurling
Long years still.