"A thing of beauty is a joy forever" - John Keats

	The Bear's Lair five toes meant one thing. he was near. I followed his tracks. passed a dead buck probably taken down days before by a bullet. I secured my handgun and my rifle. I must get the jump on him. I tip-toed creekside. then, suddenly, on the other bank, I heard an air-shaking growl. he was as big as mountain sky. he had violence in his heart and me in his eyes. his jaw opened wide, his body full of wanton hunger. I grimaced.  he'd be a trophy, his head standing proudly nailed to the wall, that is, if I could take him. he rose on his hind legs. I felt dread.  swallowed twice. cocked my gun. but he was fast. me clumsy. he crossed back. his big teeth like bronze emblems. I hung like a toy. I thought this is it. my last act. the headlines will read eaten by a bear. but no, the ordeal continued. he dragged me through the gurgling stream into bushes and across beds of rocks. bruised me bad. when we reached the beast's den, I feared I'd be dinner. I saw mama bear and her growing cubs. they motioned back and forth with their paws. I understood. they said I'd make a great rug.		Wahkeena Falls (Beautiful Woman in Yakima Native Language) bright, white and sassy, she hops rocks then dives beneath downed trees. she breathes magic. I track her fine rain and long leaping roar. lounge in her gypsy soft air as she rolls out to sea, the way my dreams do. she's a traveler and a place of rest, a hotel for the lost mind. she's old, ancient. doesn't blink. has watched many sacred souls linger in her mountain mist. heard their wild talk. I toss around in her centuries old rocks. if she was in another form, she might be a street smart angel, or the naked tears of love. she's so companionable. upon leaving, I always thank her. in winter her lone body rips out a rhapsodic roar. spurious wind gusts bend her legs, twist her as if she's a stick of licorice candy. she hisses and howls yet her droplets touch your face like soft winter kisses. I come each week with the satisfaction of knowing she is never somewhere else.