Elk 8"x10" Poetry Print

Photo of an elk at Caribou Ranch in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains with “Elk” poem printed on photo, ready to pop into your favorite frame! Jill Burkey wrote the poem and took the photo.

Elk                      

I noticed him when I opened the cabin door
and peered out at the morning spread before me —
a hazy meadow of purples and greens
with splashes of sunlight and shadow.
I stood like the patient aspens
and watched him move as slowly as the sun.
After each careful step, he bent his head to graze.
He looked up at me
and continued, unconcerned.
I wondered why he wasn’t scared of me,
and how he could be so calm, all alone,
without a herd to look out for him.
His senses alert, his body relaxed,
he was so full of the force that makes the soul.
Watching him was like looking into a newborn’s eyes,
and I could sense the soft, mystical place life comes from —
the place I’ll one day return to.
If the peace I feel then
is the serenity that swathes me now,
I won’t be too sad to go,
but I want to carry this tranquility while I live —
I want to slip it on like my favorite blue jacket
that comforts and protects me.
I want to remember how the elk moved towards me
and not away.
I want to remember the look in his eyes                   
and live with his peace
inside me.

Jill R. Burkey Copyright 2023

Print is $9.00 including tax.

Print measures 8” tall x 10” wide, and is packaged with an 8”x10” piece of chipboard in a clear sleeve to protect the print.