Guardians
The voiceless fog arises
From within the mountain pass,
Like wraiths of nature’s goodness,
Single spires ranked en masse.
They rise above the valleys,
Above the verdant dew
Then fade to gray-white stillness
Locking pass and trees and view
In an eerie silence, chirpless
And soft and true…
A truth man should not question
Of time and endless rest,
That brings him back to green mountains,
That urges him to his best.
While the brilliant sun awakens,
Brightening the forest green
Resettling the mountain frosting,
Glinting the forest stream,
Deep in the peaceful hillside
Swirling through rock-strewn glen,
Settling in caves of silence,
Steaming from fern-lined fen,
The patient mist lies waiting
For the ending of the day,
The hush of lark and robin,
The muting of the jay.
When the muffled voice of crickets
Signals the sleeping dew,
Faith calls her champions upward
Man’s spirit to renew.
Katherine Stevens MA ‘85 is a poet, photographer, author, and retired high school teacher of English and history. She has written a book of poetry and two historical novels.
About this poem Kathy says, “ ‘Guardians’ describes my thoughts one morning looking out at the mountains from my room at Tamarack. I loved watching the mist rise from the ‘passes’ each morning. I found Bread Loaf a safe place nestled as it was, surrounded by high peaks, hidden from the world, filled with its own kind of secrets and magic knowledge.”