We Left the City in 1976

We were fresh newlyweds, with dreams. We left the city in 1976. Moving west, going to the great beyond. Wasn’t everyone? We knew we wanted more than truck exhaust fumes, long commutes, and asphalt. We had our dreams. We packed the Pinto. I remember that there was a pick-up truck filled with our finest used...

The Fading Season

The fading season --when all the trees have darkenedbut before the snow --I build a fire in the grateand find that unfinished book. The new morning chilldraws me to the coffee pot.The fire still has warmth.Today's sky is bright and clear,best spent walking the canyon. A fresh breeze picks up.Fallen leaves drift in the currentlike...

Solstice Rain – 2022

  This longest day was greeted by the ancients as a turning point. A celestial change when days creep by faster. Our seasons half over. For us it means rain for a little while. Dust settles. Parched earth feels the blessed rain falling through the trees. A soft and leafy sound, some wind, some far...

A Winter’s Walk

I was on an unintended winter walkthrough a quiet streamside forest.We call it a Bosque in these parts;that’s the old Spanish name.I had nowhere to go and on this day,no Frosty promises to keep. This season has a bony feel to itwhen nature is falling into sleep.The lay of the land is discovered.Muscle and bone...

This Place

This place is a crucible – something hollow, hard, and enduring where two or three or more metals or elements are placed together and subjected to pressure and heat over time to produce a new thing. A better thing, a thing of beauty, stronger and lasting. It’s like a metate, a hollow place, where raw...

Desert Opera

We are familiar with the desert colors: the white and gray; the yellow and red. And all the many browns. And the dazzling cerulean blue of the sky. The far horizons beckon and the muscle and bone of the land runs beneath our feet and up the walls of canyons and nearby peaks. All is...

One Thousand Desert Winters

The calendar on the wall kept watch alonefor one thousand desert wintersand one thousand desert summers.Faithfully measuring out the seasons.The rabbits and rock doves had their own calendars.The coyotes took note of every moonrise.Lizards were thankful for the morning sun.Years passed, stars fell and crickets chirpedbut no one watched the calendar.Someone once kept a holy...

The Edge of Summer

In Perseids' wake the edge of summer first looms, clad in August's haze. Thoughts of summer sports - games lost and won, and picnics, and ev'ning sunsets. The school desk awaits as reluctant minds set forth on another quest. Basking as reptiles, our last fling, we find ourselves, at summer's sweet edge.      *     * ...

Mid-Summer 2022

Sun – Dust – Winds – Drought La sequía, some might call it. The desert cries dry and silent tears. Las lágrimas silenciosa – Was there ever a more enduring, stoic place? The monsoon answers with welcome rain. The clouds piled high in the distance move slowly across the horizon. Lightning flashes. Thunder rumbles. El chaparrón, a...

Heritage Soil

Horticulturists speak of heritage soil. Some plants lose their way over time. Their seeds won’t stay true. Native Pueblo chile peppers, for example; the cultivar weakens to something else. Heritage soil is what keeps them true. Like plants, we thrive in our heritage soil. That’s why it is so hard to leave it behind. We...