The Heel of the Wilderness

The Heel of the Wilderness

Haley Hodges

Imagine what might be possible if only
You learned to look beyond the rim of self,
Beyond the wilderness crying in your voice.

You cannot cry the wilderness out—
It will remain with you. Waterfalls
Have an invisible thundering life, like you
No waterfall is afraid to hear itself roar.
Nothing wastes like time or a waterfall bent
On becoming a good little trickle, understand?

Kneel and ask, what is it to befriend the wilderness,
To say to the lichen and gorse of the moors
‘Be welcome!’ to say to the sylphine moaning
Of the wind ‘be welcome!’ to lend your silky
Bubbling soul to the mad screeching of foxes.

Trickling is a bowl of stew for your birthright
Which is to gush, thunder, cascade, plunge,
Surge, pitch, and tumble—perhaps you were born
Clasping the heel of the wilderness. Someday soon—
Any day now, an angel will knock you to the ground

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Haley Hodges
Writer & Poet  

Haley is currently working towards her MFA (Poetry) at Seattle Pacific University. She holds qualifications from Hope College, Shenandoah Conservatory, and Oxford University. Her work has been published in Cassandra Voices. Recent projects include The Gun Mass, an international collaborative choral work with music by Jamie Powe. 

Photography by Taryn Kaahanui