My first time
I was with some younger friends
up on the mountain
it was spring but there was still
a bit of snow left
so we made a snowball
and threw it back and forth
around the circle
laughing as it shrank
became no bigger
than a marble
melting away like time
between our fingers

And then there was no time
only the pines
vibrating with a current
so intense
it seemed the trees were rooted
in some boundless energy
that flowing up their trunks
shot out the needles
causing the air to glow
as if the needle tips
were on the verge
of bursting into flame

A young fir tree drew me
into her arms
her bending branches
she had such a fragrance
pungent and sweet
I couldn't help but let her
hold me in her soft embrace
I've never looked at conifers
the same way since

Years later in a novel by Asturias
I came across a phrase that
brought this day to mind
like a man - he wrote -
who's eaten mushrooms
and sees the world as if
for the first time