COUGAR BREATH
Every breath
is the power
of the hillside
in my lungs
in camp
the flame
knows silence
knows whisper,
knows roar
the cougar purrs
fire walks
the mountainside
night coals
of Indian
paintbrush
leap the energy
of stars. Is this
sunrise or sunset?
Every breath
a taste
of the journey
every stride
the path
to eternity
Which ocean
is in front of me?
—Ken Letko
In my thirty-plus years living in California’s Del Norte County, I have seen three cougars, but the poem “Cougar Breath” comes from an experience when I felt the presence but did not see the cougar. “Cougar Breath” was initially published by Turtle Island Quarterly and subsequently in Bright Darkness, a 2017 book from Flowstone Press.
Ken Letko has published six poetry chapbooks and numerous poems in journals and anthologies, including Abandoned Mine, California Quarterly, Earth’s Daughters, Lake Effect, Rattle, Ravens Perch, and Spillway. Both North American Review and Poetry South have nominated his poems for Pushcart awards. In 2017, Flowstone Press published his book Bright Darkness. He lives in Del Norte County on California’s far northern coast, where he enjoys juggling and gathering firewood. kenletko.com.