Meeting a Bear and Discovering the Truth

These lingering blue glow thoughts
aftermath of September's sojourn
still delirious
still hungover
from that potent elixir - a month on
the open road

still I look to trace the path of Jupiter
despite the street light's distraction
despite no longer needing her as
my mother compass

scent of deeper pine
scent of the campfire
sometimes the choice was madness
sometimes it was a struggle

reliably became my guiding wolf
a presence stalked with relentless hunger
call to myself
my old truck
my aging hands
my wandering courage
my disjointed sex

quieter now, in the city
I catch myself looking around corners
longing for the friend I met in
the tall grass strolling
the valley meadow we shared
late afternoon sun eclipsed in the crags

in naked splendor I was a spy
at any moment he would glance away from
his moist berry bush
he would know I was there
     and nothing else mattered in the world
not my camp miles away in thick cover
not the black roads of my travelling
not my far and distant lovers
nor my poetry
only truth

and the truth in that moment was easy
the answer to a single question
this:
is what you tell the world
also what you tell yourself?

when alone with a bear
his thick black velvet propensity
a carnal moment in a meadow valley
two souls passing
nothing else matters in the world
the veil is lifted
and you get your answer.

TA