If Anything Does

Paul Winter Consort: Canyon Chaconne

Wild animals, and
the beautiful landscapes
that sustain them,
possess a value
and a virtue
regardless of our
dwindling connection
with them.
It seems that
there is a virtue
and a wisdom
in keeping some things
beyond our reach:
that the protection
of wilderness itself
is imperative.
We have touched,
and are consuming,
everything.
The world is very old,
and we are so new.
I like the feeling of awe -- what the late writer Wallace Stegner called the birth of awe -- in beholding wild country not reduced by man. I like to remember that it is wild country that gives rise to wild animals; and that the marvelous specificity of wild animals reminds us to wake up, to let our senses be inflamed by every scent and sound and sight and taste and touch of the world. I like to remember that we are not here forever, and not here alone, and that the respect with which we behold the wild world matters, if anything does.
--Rick Bass

BIGHORNS IN TURQUOISE CANYON
THE FRITO BANDITO NEAR CEDAR RIDGE
ELVIS AND ELVIRA OUTSIDE PAPAGO CANYON