Tag: writing

Desert Pilgrimmage

Dry heat
Barren
Landscape

Strips my
Being
Away

Presence
Without
Ego

Vibrant
Important
Utilitarian

Once

Abandoned
Derelict
Unprofitable

Now

The quick blue horse jumps
Carrying the lazy fox

She kept him swaddled up
Against the cold
Against her chest
Where he could easily
Reach her breast

He snuggled in
Rested his chest
Against her heart
Which she loved

In the calm after
Clouds trail listlessly
Lying low in the valleys
Or spread thinly in the sky
While the sun’s last rays
Glimmer off the glassy ocean

Roaring down the sound
With angry ferocity
Kicking up white caps
Driving breakers onto shore

I lean into the attacking wind
Hold the camera steady
As the battalion of clouds
Advance, malice intended

There’s a city on the bay
A beautiful skyline
Under the mountains
Surrounded by calm ocean

But what built the city
As much as the hands of men
Is the bay and a river
A natural crossroads

The indigo and violet of night
Chase the furious sun from the sky
Livid oranges and yellows
Cling to the horizon
But soon enough are vanquished

It’s only time, you know
That perfect line in nature
Whatever the process which created it
Whether physics, chemistry or biology

The line is just a moment in time
Created over time
And this moment
Is simply a snapshot

Rising out of a fantastical landscape
Of weathered granite, gravel and scrub
The Joshua Tree

Like a gnarled old man
The elder of the land
With a mighty presence