PAUL HERTELENDY

MESSAGE FROM THE VANISHED

“A trifling little hike alone and unequipped Before the sun sets and the cold implodes, An upward dash on densely wooded slope precipitous, Returning by the ill-marked forest trail that badly bodes, Oh, woe! The downward path soon all but vanished Like a route long since abandoned, Narrowed down and clogged with leaves, As if defended by arrays of fallen pines in weaves As barriers repelling all uncouth intruders---no reprieves. Light diminished fast and furious To render progress most precarious. Too late to backtrack steps, Too dark to dodge each low-hung limb, Too worrysome for wordy prayer or uplift hymn, Too isolated for a rescue shout, Too steep a slope to rest or sleep As shoes slipped on the slope so steep, Too cold to spend the night, Too black to see the future or the valley from this height, This lonely night of growing fright. Animals that roam the night wear frost-repellent fur Once sought by princely courts. They’re set to mock the wayward wayfarer Who foolishly wore only shorts. Yet colder now the blanket being drawn of fear and apprehension, Coupled with the memory of skeletons with ghoulish smiles They found in mountains’ distant miles Concluding weeks of searching for some roaming wretch Who lost his way and froze, just like his smile, firm etched. The focus is the task impending, Keep the traverse line descending, Then to hope for miracles rejoining well-worn paths and logs Toward towns and laughing girls and barking dogs And pavement and some high-watt lights of reassurance If the wobbly legs sustain endurance. But for now, the outlook’s grim, Without a compass, phone or whistle That might summon God-sent rescue and salvation Just in time, when hopes wane dim. In desperation I affix this message to the largest tree. You’ve found it! Launch a search in haste and rescue me Before Noel, 2003!” ---lost somewhere on Mt. Tamalpais (Calif.)

Note: Apart from the last three lines, this verse is a factual account of a casual solo hike this month by the poet that went awry, with a valuable lost-in-the-woods lesson: How little it takes for a routine hike to encounter ever greater difficulties, step by step, until there is cause for real concern.

©2007 by Paul Hertelendy. The illustrations are from IMSI's Master Clips Collection, 1895 Francisco Blvd. E., San Rafael, CA, 94901-5506, USA. This poem first posted Nov. 12, 2007.

Paul Hertelendy is critic and webmaster for the arts-review web site www.artssf.com, and is also the Piedmont (CA) Centennial poet laureate. To visit his website, click here: PAUL

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