Fern Rock

stolid stone sentinel
from which fern
and sapling sprout

proud memento of
a tumultuous age
bearing scars of

season’s wiles on
its ruddy countenance
creased by rain

pocked by ice
lashed by wind
burnished by sun

standing as symbol
fulcrum and anchor
balancing stasis and

change on solid
base and end-
point orientation as

I pass on
my round about
your domain returning

the way I
came with questions
that abide silence

whistling in wind
at treetop sifting
light and shadow

concealing more of
what waits to
be found