The Inn of The Sierra Nevada Night

I stood on the peak amidst the expanse of the moonlit, starry night, alone with the resplendent glory of the Sierra Nevada, windswept and cold, lungs filling full with exquisitely pure air after the hard climb.

Weakened by the long survival trek, body seeking food, the soul freedom, suddenly I was at home and at peace in the profound beauty of the night.

No window light or human voice or face, or road or sound of sufferings' groan was near or real in this ineffable place of truth. How odd, I thought, that such a place—knowledge of grace—lives, exists while humanity struggles to grin in the cruel grip of its inescapable pain.

Come here, I thought, come here with me now – see what I see, feel what I feel, know what I know in this moment and place. Come in to the hallowed beauty of this night.

But the night told me they must come in their own time, urged me to push on to Freedom Road, to food and water—avoidance of the aggressors.

It gifted me and sent me on my way to learn what I may before my inevitable return home — to the beauty of the night.

For Suzanne

Note: This was an experience I had as a twenty year old Air Force Pilot. I had just finished the two week “Starvation Trek” in the Sierra Nevada mountains that was the first phase of the Air Force Survival School. The second phase was the “Escape and Evasion Exercise.” Our crew of eleven was loaded into a truck at night and driven to an undisclosed location where we were dropped off in pairs. Each pair was given a small crude map and a compass. We were challenged to negotiate about 25 miles of difficult terrain while hitting four partisan (friendly) checkpoints and avoiding the “Aggressors” (the enemy). The objective was “Freedom Road,” which was located at Stead Air Force Base near Reno, Nevada. If we managed to evade the Aggressors and crossed over Freedom Road, we would be free without any further requirements. If we were captured, we would have to endure some very aggressive interrogation and some pretty rough treatment in the “POW” Camp.

The Inn of the Sierra Nevada Night takes place as I and my companion reached the peak of a third or fourth high ridge at about midnight. We had been weakened by the Starvation Trek so we were quite exhausted. In case you’re wondering, we successfully crossed Freedom Road the next day.

Copyright 2012 Robert D. McKinley

One Thin Dime

Hey buddy,
can you spare a dime?
I'm sort of, temporarily,
a poet without a rhyme.

I gotta hunch you understand.
I can see it in your face. I'm
think'n you're my kinda man,
a real gift to the human race.

I just want you to know,
this ain't my style every day.
I've had my good times, but
lately they ain't come my way.

Did I say a dime? I ain't thinkin'
too clear. I shoulda said a buck
or a five spot'd be even better
considerin' the size of my bad luck.

I see you're still listenin' to me.
That's more than most of 'em do.
I can't be sure, but I think
it says a lot about you.

I did say a fiver. Ain't that right?
My mind ain't what it used to be.
Course if you're a little flush today,
a twenty'd almost make a man of me.

But if you ain't got it, that's okay.
Don't worry none. That's life, you know,
just keeps goin' the way it will,
good times come and good times go.

Well, you sure are quiet, I'll say that.
Me rattlin' on and you ain't said a word.
Ain't moved an inch or blinked an eye.
Makes me wonder what you've heard.

Okay, well — tell you what, maybe
you got problems bigger'n mine.
You never know. I've seen it before.
So I think I'll give you a dime.

It's the last one I got or I'd give you more.
But sometimes a dime's as good as a buck,
specially when a man gives all he's got.
They say it can change everyone's luck.

Here it is, one thin dime. It ain't brand new,
been passed all around and lost all its shine.
But I got a feelin' somethin' good's goin' on
—bigger and better than one thin dime.

Copyright 2012 Robert D. McKinley