I have dreamed of this mountain for many years—
now it appears
before me
rising to a creek,
the gentling
of water & orange
butterflies that whiten
flowers with grace.
Like lace, the air is thick.
When my hands bloom,
aspens shimmer
against gray rock & spruce,
where I have climbed
over lightning-felled logs
to reach an overlook.
A soft wind
arrives from a snowy peak.
Clouds threaten overhead
Please rain I think,
& climb higher
aware that I have no jacket.
I want to get wet.
I want to expand with precipitation.
The dog killed a deer mouse
that dangles from her mouth.
Drop it I say.
My, how life is a metaphor.
I drop it all. Everything,
& let my cheek take the caress—
Alicia Elkort (she/her) has been nominated thrice for the Pushcart, twice for Best of the Net and once for the Orisons Anthology. Her first book of poetry, A Map of Every Undoing, was published in the fall of 2022 by Stillhouse Press with George Mason University, and she has been published in numerous journals and anthologies. She reads for Tinderbox Poetry Journal and works as a Life Coach and as an editor with Shiversong LLC. Alicia lives in the gorgeous light of Santa Fe, NM. For more info or to watch her two video poems: http://aliciaelkort.mystrikingly.com/