Mike McLaren makes his living as a writer, poet, and musician. He knows the lyrical is the only vocation with honor. In 1991 he published a collection of original Arthurian Legend stories with Hobby House Press, and in that same year a writing textbook for Colorado State University. He lives with his wife and two Chihuahuas along the Colorado Front Range, and when there are no words to work with, Mike and his wife spend their weekends biking the Continental Divide ― with the two tiny dogs being pulled along in their own bike trailer.
Always Here
How deep does the mountain
extend into the Earth?
How far beyond the valley
will the river flow?
From the crest of a ridge,
I breathe in mist
that fingers its way
through tall fir and cedar,
I look at my feet.
Walking down the slope
my hair drips
with a Pacific Northwest downpour;
trickles go down my neck,
into my shirt.
Thick forest, rising streams,
a path traveled not nearly enough,
birds whistle, day wanes—
I look at my feet.
How far did I travel
to get here?
Why did I want
to go there?
Musical Movement
The baton raises, quivers
just for an eternity,
then a guiding hand
slides it into the music
with rhythmic pulses and long thrusts
that lead the notes through a blend
of deep and lifting harmonies.
Notes fall together,
in and out of one another,
arching across slurs and andantes,
dancing through triplets,
touching measure upon measure
until the music can no longer be held
and is released to the silence
felt only by the musicians.
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