PIEDRA STILLNESS
I must have stood
on my
skis
a long while…
Staring at the
snow.
Hidden
frozen
Piedra River Valley
her mammoth strata
of ice
upon ice.
To this world
outside of my own,
I tell my secrets.
When it was time to continue,
I was cold.
– Steve Ilg
from PAGOSA SPEAKS; A Book Of Regional Poetry (1990)…available at our Tribal Online Catalog.
photo of Ananda climbing Lake Peak above Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2003 by coach ilg
�
magnificent portions of my Blessed life have been spent upon snow.
snow is, my most preferred medium of gross level Pran.
skis, snowshoes, crampons, sleds, or mountaineering boots; i love the sense of snow
beneath me.
the sounds of her.
the bite of her against my face.
a tribute of my Love for snow is my fourth book; THE WINTER ATHLETE.
that book is my sweat soaked anthem of all that is Sacredly Cold.
to get True =
get Cold.
get so Cold your bones shudder and your spit freezes your lips together…
then
shall your true Spirit soar uninterrupted through your cold crystallized self.
here is what ruins winter serenity and evocative Insight from winter’s cathedral; snowmobiles.
here is what chases down pregnant Elk and Deer who struggle through long winters; snowmobiles.
here is what kills wolves, trout, owls, and wild whispers of eternity; snowmobiles.
you love animals?
you love human integrity instead of human obnoxiousness?
you love the spirit of Wholistic Fitness and HP Yoga?
you love these things?
show me you care by engaging some Yogic Warriorism:
http://www.ucsaction.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=22015
i bow to you in defense for those cold animals who cannot speak
and for all that which is Sacred Cold,
Snowy Warrior Ilg
author/THE WINTER ATHLETE (Johnson Books)