We venerate… the bearded oak, and his beard: Spanish moss – granite and his gold and green lichen – Monterey pine and her needles and cones – the cypress bending low – the redwood standing tall, burnt out in the middle – pale faced otters wrapped in kelp – black sided dolphins – whale spouts and flukes – water: salty and borderless – water: fresh and endless – cougar, black bear, and ring-tale: seldom seen – fox, coyote, and bobcat: sometimes seen – raccoon, rabbit, and ground squirrel: omnipresent – the alarming stellar jay – the circling turkey vultures – the flash of hawks: red-tailed and coopers – the gulp of the pelican, cormorant, and gull – the swoop of the falcon, the kestrel, the swallow, the bat – the dashing lizard – the scrabbling snake – sweet smelling rosemary, yarrow, and sage – forbidding black-berry bramble and mighty poison oak – waves hidden in fogbanks – trees toppled in high winds – dry grass and poppies – the crow's cry – the raven's wing beat – the moth, monarch, stinkbug, and mosquito eater – the foothills that walk – the condor's return – the pollen and seeds – the eroding stones – the mildew, mushrooms, and mold – the leaf litter – the washed out and washed up – the buzzing, the chirping, the croaking – the songs that surround us – the collective breath. Big Sur, amen.
