Defining Yonder

The farmer smiled

“A-yuh”, he nodded

“Over Yonder,

‘Bout five miles”

I blinked

Followed his finger

Pointing

Back the way I’d come

Towards the road , flowing east to west

As the farmer , clad in denim and dirt

Pointed south

And I , dressed in black

Patent leather and pantyhose

Blinked again

“What is Yonder?”

“Over there.

What yer lookin’ for.

Where yer wantin’ t’be.”

My eyes turned south

‘Where you’re wanting to be.’

Echoed

Through my thoughts

Set my stomach churning

I felt the wince, the twitch of my eye

Did he see?

Green eyes , still smiling

Golden skin , creased at the edges

Kissed by the sun

He cocked his head

Reading my confusion?

He raised one eyebrow , bushy and gray

“What is Yonder. Exactly?”

He laughed , sharp and rough

Like the dog sitting beside him

Like the tips of his fingers

Pointing again

This time north

“See that?”

I turned , following

Towards distant mountains

Deep blue, against the sky

Dusted with snow

Deep enough for skiing

“That is Yonder.”

Something inside me

Leaned towards the snow

Wanting the cold

The warmth of the lodge

Whose whisp of smoke

Rose up like smoke signals

Speaking my name

An eagle called

A dark shadow

Wheeling against the topaz sky

Searching the tall pines

Deep emerald sentinels

Framing a glistening lake

For a moment

My thoughts jumped

In the trunk of the car

A bin of gear

Binoculars

Sketch books

My camera

Perfect for birding

Drawing at the lake

“Or there,” He pointed east

“Yonder too.”

Left

Along the road ahead

Where I’d not yet been

Distant woods beckoned

Wind rustling leaves

Skeletal birch trees bowed

As if to lure me in

A horse whinny

Brought my gaze nearer

Two horses stood

Watching us

Like spectators at a show

One white, one black

Yin and Yang

Beside them

A sign of painted ponies

Offered riding lessons

My dress shoes

Took that moment

To sink

Into the farmer’s fertile soil

“Or there,”

Pointing west

Right

Back the way I’d come

Back to the city

And gridlock

Back to smog

And noise

Back to steel

And glass

Anxiety and angst

Pressure and panic attacks

Back to loneliness and loss

“Or Yonder there,”

He smiled again

Eyes seeming to know

Pointing south

“As I said.

Is where you asked to go.”

I blinked

And I stared

“A few miles back

You’ll find the turn

Will getcha there from here.”

But the horse whinnied

And the eagle replied

Calling me once again

I forgot

The once intended Where

The desired There

My beginning Yonder

That place

That had begun my journey

And a conversation with a stranger

The Where I had intended to be

T Where I was expected

Looking back north

To mountains and lake

And beckoning unknowns

An unexpected Yonder

I pulled my heels

One by one

From the fertile earth

And I pointed

“Can I get Yonder

From here?”

“A-yuh,” he smiled

“I reckon

You can get there

From here.”