Mountain altar

High above abandoned threshing circles
And ancient acequias

Where roads end
And timelessness begins

I come to reaffirm my faith

Where moss and lichens thrive
In the most inhospitable places

And butterflies dance
Among thistles
And weather-beaten artemisias

I splash the last of the rushing snow-melt
Over my weary flesh

Naked, wind-kissed skin
Caressed by the breath of spirit

Thirst quenched in fleeting moments
By the elixir of deep time

As sun and moon dance
Between day and night

Before this vast, rocky altar
I drop to my knees

In reverence.