Miniature Moss Variation - Missoula, Montana

“…Still I wonder, and envy

The lichen, chewing the granite like a cow

Its cud, ruminating so patiently

Over the pageant, as swift glaciers plow

The plains, and oceans flow and ebb between;

They view the epic plot, from beginning

To end spectators of every scene,

Where I glimpse one held pose, knowing nothing

Of the unfolding. I do not envy

The rough pale scales their immortality;

Only their witness of the great story.”

 - From ‘Envying theLichen’ by Mark Sauer

Read the full poem here, and more of Sauer's thoughtful verse at his PoemHunter collection.