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Words

British Columbia, Canada


In a place between mountains,
voices arise from a solitude
   of snow-vapors merging
      with the chanting flights
         of clouds.

Meltwater runs ribbons
   from granite walls resounding
      with the rumbling rhythms
         of the earth.

In the high alpine meadow,
the drone of mosquitoes mix
   with the ancient mystic mumbles
      from solemn weathered trees
         to the high-pitched laughter
            of wildflowers.

I can almost hear the words,
but they are drowned
   by the pounding thunder
      of my footsteps.

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Copyright © 1989 by Wataru Ebihara