American Basin
Take the vacation. Return to your peaceful place. Refill your cup.
Photo by Julie Miley Schlegel
When I die, take me back to Lake City.
Drive past the lake, my centering place,
With its still waters
And reflective surface.
With the pontoon the kids found boring
And the paddleboards they didn’t.
Pass the sleeping woman atop the mountain
Overlooking everything.
Turn at the creek and pursue the gravel road
As it climbs and bumps
Like my life did along the way.
Rest under the aspens as they shimmer in the wind
With their community root system,
And know that I appreciate your being
My root system, and my community.
Go past the meadow
Where the deer leapt and ran weightlessly,
And by the streams
Where my dad and my husband and my children
Taunted the rainbow trout with their fly rods.
Pass the hiking trails, where
Generations of friends walked,
Where I held my children’s hands
Or carried them
Until I could let go
And they could hike on their own,
Their lungs and legs stronger than my aging ones.
Take shelf road
And white-knuckle the seats
As we had to do in life
When things weren’t so good
Or were scary
Or sad.
And marvel at the old broken-down cabins
Near the old broken-down mines of our lives.
Climb to the tree line
Where the flora and fauna change
To the Alpine tundra,
Where the only sound
Is the wind
Or the stream
Or a waterfall.
Notice the mountains fixed and steady
And the trees evergreen,
And the seasons unchanged,
And find comfort in the stability of this place
As I always did
To restore my soul.
Drive through the creek and over the final rocky road
And take me where the crags will be my backdrop forevermore.
Take me to the grass where I can become ashes to ashes, dust to dust,
And to the waterfall where I took the family photo.
Take me to the columbines my mom loved,
And the yellow flowers,
And the tiny white flowers making a place for themselves among the rocks.
And the deep purple flowers,
And the pink ones that were my sister’s favorite.
Most importantly, know the people I love have left their footprints in this place I love,
Where we ate our sandwiches
And passed the chips
And sipped the Cokes
And finished the Oreos.
Let my soul rise from here,
Where the kids climbed to touch the snow.
Where we didn’t know how high we could make it up the sides,
For this is as close to heaven on Earth as I have known.
Returning to God has to be from this thin place
Where I feel the spirit’s presence most of all.
And a piece of me will remain always in this happy, peaceful valley,
Through the vibrant colors of the aspens in autumn
And the solitude of white, icy winter
And the new life of spring and summer —
Back to nature I go.
And when you drive home to be among the living,
Take the peace and beauty of American Basin with you.
Know that it will be unchanging even as life bumps and curves and falls and scares you.
And know that I will always be with you
In this place,
In your memory,
In your actions,
In the way you treat each other and life,
And in your hearts,
Forevermore.
Photo by Julie Miley Schlegel
The advice and opinions herein are by no means meant to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Please contact your personal physician, mental health provider or health care professional for medical advice. Opinions are my own.