(For Edward Abbey)
In the desert
The searing desert
The desert with its waves
A sea of hidden color melding into an ocean with no relief of water
Turbulence that swallows the whole
I hold a picture taken in morning shadows of hanging grapes against morning fog on the sea
I look at it, and see me and you
"Goddamn, we were here
There we are"
Cave paintings
raw and muted colors
markings from scrapings of rock against rock
Everybody trying to leave a scraping somewhere that is recognized
embraced as real
as beauty
Stood at Donner Pass yesterday on July 13 ... my dyslexic 65th birthday
Rather, I sat in my car looking out the window over Donner Pass
Hurts less to not move and look
Think Moses felt that way?
The wagons of the Dead are long gone
as are the cannibals with the will to survive
All that remains
is the color of the lake
the formations of rock
the sky
the trees
all inviting one
to rest
to recline into free fall
Fading shadows of the encroaching Nevada desert circle me
scattering my memories and sense of self
But morning returns and desert air enters and departs at will
Here I am
Cave painting on the desert floor
Donner Pass behind me
along with the muddled fog on the sea
~ zjm
Reno
14 July 2019
