The Poet's Touch |
Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wondrous deeds. —Psalm 98:1 In that dawn woodland, we drive through valleys nestled in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains. The forest belongs to us—quiet as a chapel. Sunlight streaks through phantom haze to parade pine shadows across our path. In a hollow, our pace quickens. Evergreen fragrance mingles with drifting scents of country ham. An early riser stokes his campfire. Maybe he is hungry, too. In this pristine forest, a family of vocalists sway in our Country Squire station wagon. Open windows channel crisp mountain air into our lungs. Ribboned hair tangles and flaps in buffeting gusts. We begin to harmonize in Girl Scout rounds choir chant “Glorias” and giddy made-up ditties belting out each allegro with rollicking enthusiasm of an Opening Night. On a bend, campers armed with firewood stand, heads cocked, their eyes fixed upon our fleeting ensemble until we are lost in a turn. In the distance, a stretch of road reveals a family gathered on the shoulder straining to see … us? Lyrics bounce off grandfather mountain’s rocky crest while summer-tanned youths catch our song and run with it. We pause in the spontaneity of the moment and rejoice in the myriad of small pleasures. Basking in a hallelujah-kind-of-day we drive with sky in our eyes—we soar without wings. |
| Hallelujah-Kind-of-Day by Rita Goodgame |
© 2009 Rita Goodgame. All rights reserved.
Photo Credit: National Park Service
Photo Credit: National Park Service
| Rita Goodgame has won an Arkansas Writer's Grand Conference Literary Award, prose/poetry first place awards in ByLine Magazine and The National League of American Pen Women, Pioneer Branch. Her work has also appeared in publications such as Women's World, Grandmother Earth, Soiree, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, The Bulletin, International Old Lacers, Inc., and Our Arkansas ... Special Places, '09. |
