landfall.

this ridge of rock redeemed from sea-slop/stands still enough to serve/settle/establish the crop/wait out the cycling seasons.

circumnavigate it/establish its basic form/map the perimeter of its coast.

explore/the hidden interior. the peaks and highlands. the gullies and canyons and blind valleys/the pillared forests/sun

slanting/through the /leaves.

flight of startled deer/clatter of wings/seeking sky.

follow its braided rivers/tread its swamps and reedy marsh

its brackish estuaries and secluded islets.

graph its extremities of climate/the extent/of its days and nights.

speak/with its swift footed spirits/eavesdrop/on their musics.

those sounds which do not vibrate the air/nor travel over distances/but instead/unfold their symmetries

to inner ear alone.

Ariels of this secret island/

on indolent zephyrs/on the jeweled frosts

implicit/in the sudden silence.

IN WINTER WE BUILD AND PRESERVE OUR STRENGTH/

IN SUMMER/WE SPEND THE SURPLUS.