looking out over the plains

below a quarter moon

in the late day cool sun

after the first snow of fall

the game trails

in the yellow grass

tell of things I cannot see

but were once here

traces of those

so much quicker than us

attuned to this place

weaving between the rocks

without much effort at all

I remember someone telling me

that animals follow ley lines

magnetic fields

and thermal winds

to make their way

what is broken in us

that we cannot feel

those little tugs they do

that we have forgotten

somewhere within us

is a compass

tuned to the gentle earth

though we follow

our indulgences now

I think it may still be there

that soft voice

heard on slow paced hikes

that call to meander

to weave through high grasses

to let the land

tell us how to move through it

to listen not to the paths

which have been made for us

but those we were made for

Alexander Shalom Joseph is an award-winning poet, writer and playwright from Gilpin County, and is the author of seven published books. You can find his work and more information about him at alexandershalomjoseph.com.