The birds have vanished into the sky,
and now the last cloud drains away.
We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains.
—- Li Po
(Meditation has been a subject on sister blog A View from the Woods lately, and Li Po’s beautiful poem is well worth listening to another time, so here it is again. For your meditative attention? We are also leaving Arizona and this view to return back East: very soon in this place once again only the mountain remains.)
Touch2Touch 
Yes… they are not long, the days of wine and roses (and mountains for us) –
Out of a misty dream, our path emerges and then closes within a dream. Li Po (Li Bai) would have understood that — but not Tu Fu. DJE
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Thanks, DJE — (that’s you hiding behind the cow photo?)
True enough. (Why do I have to struggle with the urge to rename the poet To Fu!)
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Mountains seem to endure, don’t they. And those of us in the Northeast will be happy to have you home. Our mountains will still be here, too 🙂
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We are home, as of this moment. Thinking of the looming brown mountains and Sonoran desert of Tucson, and looking at the gentle curves of Western MA and all the greens from I-90 on the way home, I feel like I have a foot in each of two different worlds.
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What a beautiful poem! I am glad you were able to take in the view of the Arizona mountains. Thank you for sharing it with us along your journey.
I wish you safe travels back East. The spring should be inviting new leaves and green hills to welcome you home. Keep the memories of the Arizona mountain in your mind as long as possible, and enjoy the new sights you are soon to see!
Best wishes,
Tara
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Thanks so much, Tara. As I said in response to Pauline’s comment, and now to yours, I love both of these landscapes, but they are SO DIFFERENT, they almost belong to different worlds.
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You might already be back East, and you’ll always have those beautiful mountains in your memory. Hope you’ll have a safe journey.
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Just back as of tonight, safe (if tedious) journey, and such different sights on the way home —
Have to figure out your new blog location and how to get it in my RSS feed — but I’ll do it!
Good luck and have fun with your new format, whenever it shakes down —
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I’m always a fan of meditation. 🙂 http://meditationmania.wordpress.com
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Love the beautiful blue sky and the teeny, tiny airplane.
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You are one keen observer, Doris!
Thanks for coming by —
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