Vista
May 1 2015

The sheer cliff
overlooks the city, the lake beyond.
A straight drop,
like cartoon coyote, stepping-off
  –   just don't look down.

On the commanding heights
you feel small,
the permanence of rock
the vast horizon.
And masterful, as well,
like a general
in his aerie fortress
impregnable walls.

There is something in us
that loves a view.
The stunning vista
from that higher hill,
the panorama
from the mountain top.
And then beyond,
where the curve of the earth
comes clear.

We have seen to the edge of the cosmos
and back in time.
Peered in,
all the way down
to DNA, atoms
matter's basic stuff.
Even looked inside ourselves,
trying to understand, but mostly baffled
by the why and what
of us.

Standing on the edge
like lords of Creation
we pronounce it good.
Yet all our works
look insignificant
from way up here.
The rust-red freighter
a bobbing bath-toy
on the placid lake.
The smokestack, belching grey,
you could pinch between two fingers
and snap away.

I like the tension here between mastery, the commanding heights, and the underlying sense of insignificance.

I also like the telescoping of the view, which plays with the whole idea of “vista”:  the aperture narrowing as we focus down to the microscopic; then the big reflector gazing out into the vastness of space, gathering up every scintilla of light. And then the metaphysical view:  the self-knowledge; the spiritual and psychological.

I have no idea why, as a committed and passionate atheist, I keep salting my poems with Biblical references. Maybe I’m indulging my sense of irony. Anyway, I kind of like lords of Creation …pronounc(ing) it good, as I think God is said to have done on the 7^th day. Perhaps what I like here is the reflection on our hubris:  our presumption of godliness, which is then swiftly contrasted with our smallness and insignificance.

We are attracted to views, prefer to occupy the high ground. Perhaps this is aesthetic. Or perhaps it has to do with power. I recall hearing a biologist comment on bears’ selection of denning spots. He had noticed something odd, and was wondering if one reason they choose the sites they do is for the view; because they often seemed to have spectacular outlooks. All else being equal, perhaps they do notice the view. As usual, animals are more like us than we imagine. Or perhaps we’re more like them!

The cliff, by the way, is a real place. And easily accessible. I was just there yesterday.