Asta at Big Laurel Creek. Photo by Gene Hyde
“The dog would remind us of the pleasures of the body with its graceful physicality, and the acuity and rapture of the senses, and the beauty of forest and ocean and rain and our own breath.” -Mary Oliver, “Dog Talk”
Sun soaked and sparkling
Asta somehow knows, sipping
Deep the light-filled creek,
Shimmering, shining,
So numinous below. The
Ripples softly speak
Of this bright altar,
Of this holy flow, of this
Old dog’s raptured glow.
For more of Gene Hyde’s writing and photography, visit Bantering Bibliocrat
About Gene Hyde
Gene Hyde is a writer, poet, and photographer who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. He discovered the natural beauty of the Southern Appalachian Mountains early in his life, and has spent most of his adult life finding inspiration, solace and strength in these ancient, verdant mountains. His writing and photography have appeared in such publications as Valley Voices, The Raven's Perch, Tiny Seed Literary Journal, The Goose: A Journal of Arts, Environment, and Culture, Light: A Journal of Photography and Poetry, Jerry Jazz Review, and Mountains Piled Upon Mountains: Appalachian Nature Writing in the Anthropocene.
