Alpenglow (for Troy)

                                                        (Lake Willoughby, Vermont, 1999)
 

After the sunset, a dim brilliance hovers

Still

Indistinct and ineffable as

The breath of god,

The absence a burning presence,

Mountains and rivers shrouded

In a pink and orange blaze–

The soft light of memory,

Dreamy and shape-shifting.

On the surface, nothing grows 

In this white expanse

But beneath the snowpack, life stirs

Still–

Lupine and bearberry and arctic moss

Sustained by the summer’s radiance

Awaiting the return of spring.

On a distant unnamed peak

Your spirit beams

Out and over and within,

Permeating the frost,

Infusing the landscape with heavenly hues

Transcending time and space.

An eternal golden hour.

   Troy Larson, 1968-2022

           Photo: Fairbanks, Alaska 1999