poem for today - The Level Path (Davison)

[plantgirl]

The Level Path

Descend here along a shower of
               shallow steps past the potting shed with
                                 its half-rotted ironbound door

to reach the level path. It winds
               northward, high hat, girdling
                                 the waist of a limestone cliff

beyond earshot of the clamorous village below. The
               squeezed access bears us vaguely along
                                 shifting digressions of the compass, past

eye-level seductions of violet, periwinkle, primrose, and petals
               like lisping yellow butterflies. Naked limbs
                                 of beech, haggard liftings of pine,

a hairy upthrust of cedar beside a
               curving stone bench, all hint at eruptions
                                 into Eros. Yet another seat displays

a cushion of undisturbed luxuriant moss around its clefts and
               edges. Thick harsh leaves
                                 of holly, ivy, even of palmetto

thrust up, pathside, between tender new petals,
               while other friendly shrubs reach down
                                 from overhead to fondle our faces.

There is no escape from the dreadful beauty of
               this narrow path. It leads nowhere
                                 except to itself and
                                 the black water below.

"The Level Path"
by Peter Davison
from Breathing Room
Copyright ©2000 by Peter Davison