ANECDOTE
He has scars on his fingers,
this so-called scholar
who tells me there are many ways into the highlands
depending on who travels and why, and
if you can’t go on foot you can get there in dreams
or so he says,
and his dark eyes are clouded.
Thrill-seekers make the journey
runaway lovers fleeing vengeance
soldiers and burnt-out mystics
escapers and lost souls
misfits of every kind,
but also pilgrims of a different type.
The highlands are unfathomably deep and full of wonders
he says, spreading out his hands.
Far down one special path is a barn with stained work benches in it,
the ground is slippery there
and from wall hooks hang
what look like garlands of brown spiders
but are not.
More people than you might suppose seek such a place.
anecdote
POEM 2025
three poems
video 2026