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Predawn High Sierra Hike
The new-moon, star-lit darkness does not hide
The beauty that surrounds me on the trail,
As silhouettes of trees and mountains guide
My feet into the wilderness like braille.
For darkness has a beauty of its own,
With whispered wind and brook-song beyond sight,
As step by cautious step, I walk alone
Beneath the splendor of a starry night.
But shadows must at last give way to dawn
As rosy-fingered clouds illume the sky.
New beauty born replacing what has gone;
For day and night each in their turn must die.
With golden, sun-tipped peaks, the wilderness
Awakens both to welcome and to bless.
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James A. Tweedie is a retired pastor living in Long Beach, Washington. He has written and published six novels, one collection of short stories, and four collections of poetry including Sidekicks, Mostly Sonnets, and Laughing Matters, all with Dunecrest Press. His poems have been published nationally and internationally in both print and online media. He was honored with being chosen as the winner of the 2021 SCP International Poetry Competition.
Just lovely! I also enjoy a pre-dawn morning, but in the Sierras at Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe, I will choose high noon for the magnificent colors of the water.
Darkness does indeed have a beauty all its own and, as you truly point out, so does its opposite. The two are balanced perfectly in this serenely calm and carefully constructed sonnet. And what wonderful photographs. Thank you James.
Jim, thank you for this perfectly-constructed sonnet, in diction and form as well as its aural beauty. I read it aloud (which I encourages readers to do) and it is even more beautiful! There is a nobility and grace that elevates this sonnet to sublime! I particularly like your choice of kennings: “new-moon”, “star-lit” “brook-song”, “rosy-fingered”– kennings have been a part of English poetry since the Old English period and they always produce something visceral in me– just as do monosyllabic word choices. Your line “For day and night each in their turn must die” is utter perfection to me! Well done!!
My predawn military hikes were not as enjoyable, but I did have company.
Yes…those early hours before the dawn are passionate and powerful in the gentlest way. Your lovely poem says it all.
James, inpressed by your magical verse, surronding my serene soul, I appreciate poetry understandable by all. Your humity sparkles here,
You made this Sunday for me. Bless you.
With a hectic travel schedule today, your poem is the perfect remedy.
Such a smoothly flowing poem, Mr. Tweedie, with a deep message to mull upon. Enjoyed reading it very much. Thanks for sharing!
Your beautiful imagery conveys the meditative peace of the early morning hike. The “braille” metaphor in the first stanza is brilliant, and an original rhyme. This was a pleasure to read slowly, to take in the experience. Those are some of the best poems.
I wish, James , that my encounters with mountains had been like this. Mostly I was climbing them, with their tops always just beyond the horizon.
The transition times of day (or of the year) deserve a special artistry. Your choice of pre-dawn as topic here allows you to turn the sonnet at dawn, and thus use the Homeric epic epithet “rosy-fingered,” bringing the aurora of ancient Greece into the High Sierra of a contemporary classical poet.