Ways of Looking At Me (modeled after the work of Wallace Stevens)

I.

Set high in the Green Mountains

Wind sweeps across Mount Mansfield

Combing through my dark hair

Atop the summit

II.

Flowing words and vibrant pictures

Reflected on the lens

Of my glasses

III.

Before my eyes

Dinosaurs and other vastly ancient beings

Appear from extinction

Ressurected though graphite and ink

IV.

Fleur de lis

Bald eagle

Badges and achievements

 A lifelong career in scouting

Branded, sewn

Across my tan uniform

Worn with incommunicable pride

V.

Ball cap

Crimson as the fall

Emblazoned with colorful heraldry

Sits atop my head

VI.

Clean air

Of the verdant forests

Fills my lungs

VII.

My hands

Brush away

At loose soil

Revealing a puzzle

To a prehistoric world

VIII.

Over the intercom

Every student

Every teacher

Pauses to hear

Greetings, announcements

Enthusiastic words

Spoken from my mouth

IX.

My boots trod upon

Hallowed ground

Relaxing Pennsylvania fields

Once a turning point

In a war that divided us

X.

My arm is raised

Sharply angled

In salute

To a glorious banner 

Old as the ideals that shaped our nation

Writ on paper

And etched in stone

XI.

Below green shorts

Even darker green socks

Hug my legs

And the legs of others

In similar uniform

Like minded friends

Standing at attention

In the humid valley