Pepper Trail | Poetry | Wagner Butte Haibun

WAGNER BUTTE HAIBUN

In the literature of Zen, there is a form called haibun. The writer of haibun aims to create an intense sense of place by combining prose descriptions with the short, impressionistic poetry of haiku. On July 10, I hiked to the crest of Wagner Butte, the forested peak that rises behind Talent and forms part of the eastern wall of the Siskiyou Mountains. What follows is my poor attempt to convey that day through a haibun.

All day I moved alone, accompanied always by the lovely, slow, and meditative songs of Hermit Thrushes. This modest bird, brown-backed and spot-breasted, is rarely seen as it sings high in the conifers, but its flute-like songs fill the forest. Only once did I glimpse one of the singers. I was startled by how close he was: only fifty or sixty feet away. And so I learned that there were even more singing thrushes than I had dreamed, each filling a small circle of the mountain with music.

    On the trail, listen
    Waiting for the thrush’s song
    Breath of mountain air

The climb up Wagner Butte is a tour of western North America. On the lower half of the mountain, forests of Cascade conifers stand cool and still, shading big white Columbia windflowers and slender pink spotted coralroot orchids. The moss-covered, chocolate-colored earth effortlessly absorbs each footstep. The duff and soil are alive with beings who prefer to be unrevealed, but which my curiosity exposes briefly to the light. Largest among these is a two-inch long millipede, lacquered black and orange. Though a peaceful scavenger, he is well-defended with toxic cyanide:

    Coiled millipede
    Thanks for this gentle warning
    Sweet scent of almond

Scattered between the conifer groves are lush water-meadows that could grace the high Sierras. On this July day, they are filled with head-high purple lupines and the great spreading white blooms of cow parsnip, while vivid yellow seep-spring monkeyflowers cluster along the trickling freshets of water.

		WAGNER BUTTE HAIBUN In the literature of Zen, there is a form called haibun. The writer of haibun aims to create an intense sense of place by combining prose descriptions with the short, impressionistic poetry of haiku. On July 10, I hiked to the crest of Wagner Butte, the forested peak that rises behind Talent and forms part of the eastern wall of the Siskiyou Mountains. What follows is my poor attempt to convey that day through a haibun. All day I moved alone, accompanied always by the lovely, slow, and meditative songs of Hermit Thrushes. This modest bird, brown-backed and spot-breasted, is rarely seen as it sings high in the conifers, but its flute-like songs fill the forest. Only once did I glimpse one of the singers. I was startled by how close he was: only fifty or sixty feet away. And so I learned that there were even more singing thrushes than I had dreamed, each filling a small circle of the mountain with music. On the trail, listen Waiting for the thrush’s song Breath of mountain air The climb up Wagner Butte is a tour of western North America. On the lower half of the mountain, forests of Cascade conifers stand cool and still, shading big white Columbia windflowers and slender pink spotted coralroot orchids. The moss-covered, chocolate-colored earth effortlessly absorbs each footstep. The duff and soil are alive with beings who prefer to be unrevealed, but which my curiosity exposes briefly to the light. Largest among these is a two-inch long millipede, lacquered black and orange. Though a peaceful scavenger, he is well-defended with toxic cyanide: Coiled millipede Thanks for this gentle warning Sweet scent of almond Scattered between the conifer groves are lush water-meadows that could grace the high Sierras. On this July day, they are filled with head-high purple lupines and the great spreading white blooms of cow parsnip, while vivid yellow seep-spring monkeyflowers cluster along the trickling freshets of water.