By Sojourner Kincaid Rolle
…Therefore the way of the soul…leads to the water,
to the dark mirror that lies at the bottom.”
—Carl Jung
The mountain obsidian shale
cups the green water
in the palm of its oddly shaped hand
Mountain immovable ageless
harboring sage and chapparal trails
where Chumash elders roam
Mountain with sphinx gaze
watching a million tides recede
watching the endless trek and settle
The Seraphim whisper
Echoes dance among the willows
looping the angelic harmony
The lake ancient as the runted hills
gathers the oldest secrets of the valley
close to its cleavage
Open to any soul questing
touching bottom a costly discovery
deep in the quiet place
Sojourner Kincaid Rolle is a poet, playwright, environmental educator and peace activist. She served as Santa Barbara’s Poet Laureate from 2015-2017. Her books include Mellow Yellow Global Umbrella, Common Ancestry, and Black Street: Poems. Rolle has led workshops through her Song of Place Poetry Project since 1997. Also by this poet: "Circle of Painted Stones (at La Casa de Maria)" and "In Peace and Gratitude."