Rie’s First Hike
At six weeks of age
We took you on your first hike
Up the trail that winds along Indian River
Inland from the ocean.
You traveled well, sound asleep,
Cushioned against your Dad’s chest,
Bear bread on a stout Hemlock tree.
Olie, Lena and Uffda,
Old Black Lab, Golden Retriever, Newfoundland pup,
Pounded the trail ahead
Their padded feet weaving circles
Along trail, river, muskeg
Through budding brush and old growth trees
Gauzy bearded moss and skunk cabbage stalks
We trekked
The earlier anticipation of your spring arrival
Seemed as chaotic, conflicted,
Joyful, too.
But this day is not marked in memory
Rather, future hopes,
For you, Rie, are many.
But of these, the simplest:
May you always have these trees, coastline, and wooded trails.
-Kersten Christianson
Sitka, Alaska