Black: to flash or blaze; an eruption of energy that can be manifested either as black or white, as it is not the “colour” (or, better, lack of colour) that is described but a region of energy that gathers, concentrates, and casts off light. Crows carry such light with them. So do bald men, white-headed (bald) eagles, and blazes marking a trail through pines in cougar country. To say something is black (or bald) is a sign of deep respect. Such places stream with power.

Mount Hood, Oregon

Columbia River in the Foreground.