Spirits In the Sky

SPIRITS IN THE SKY To be lost is to be rootless Without guide, form, future or past. Go to the mountains with care lest You lose your path through this world passed. If you travel to the high Rockies, wolf and bear Still rule serene and restless in summers, But the long winter night-skies there Are ruled by ephemeral shimmers. Take care, for dazzling ghostlight ethereal Moves in crackling curtains, swirled With waves of colours unknown, surreal: A pulsating view into another world. Spirit dance-of-veils hiding all; revealing, showing Nothing; but hinting there are sprites abroad Which enfold you with wild radiance glowing, And entice your mind to stay - awed. Indian shamans say they are spirits wandering - Of children, or warriors, lost in their travel : Spiritual in instinct, with a fluttering Serene, yet restlessly mobile - a life unreal. No words can describe it in all its grandeur, Rootless, formless, hinting, hiding there; And no colour or brush can capture The restless serenity of wolf and bear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NOTE Almost everyone has seen some display of the spooky beauty of the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. It is without doubt at its most spectacular in Northern Canada , especially in mountainous regions like the Rockies. Many native cultures associate it with lost spirits.