For an Earth-Landing

the sky sinks its blue teeth
into the mountains.Rising on pure will(the lurch & lift-off,
the sudden swing
into wide, white snow),I encourage the cable.Past the wind
& crossed tips of my skis
& the mauve shadows of pines
& the spoor of bears
& deer,I speak to my fear,rising, riding,
finding myselfthe only thing
between snow & sky,the link
that holds it all together.Halfway up the wire,
we stop,
slide back a little
(a whirr of pulleys).Astronauts circle above us today
in the television blue of space.But the thin withers of alps
are waiting to take us too,
& this might be the moon!We move!Friends, this is a toy
merely for reaching mountainsmerely
for skiing down.& now we're dangling
like charms on the same braceletor upsidedown tightrope people
(a colossal circus!)or absurd winged walkers,
angels in animal fur,with mittened hands waving
& fear turning& the mountain
like a fisherman,reeling us all in.So we land
on the windy peak,
touch skis to snow,
are married to our purple shadows,
& ski back down
to the unimaginable valleyleaving no footprints.