once I was the pacific reef
salt in the air and storm beneath
the kaleidoscope of creatures
swimming in the deep
once I was the pinyon forest
with nothing to achieve
only the beauty of Chi
living in the reaches of my delicate branches
once I was the mountain high
the snowy crests that carve the sky
cloaked by the wind in misty clouds
hidden from view in ephemeral shrouds
~ Leila Currah