pentagram of twigs
     'neath the gnarled remains
            of a grey sycamore

Wild grape
        twines the Sycamore
over scores of cairns.

Old stone wall
sporting lichens
by the irrigation channel

Blue putty sticks
to my fingernails -
last goodbyes are being said.

Our own secret:
Downy owlets welcome
the day's last red light.

Monsoon clouds
paint the Peaks, the air itself:
   My partner's smile.

As Vikings on autumn tides,
   Curiosity drives us
      to new, red, shores.