At dusk She puts on a show
And sometimes we can’t wait
To unleash
Let go
Expand
Dance
Share
Our sound
Our siren
Gratitude to Her for another day
In celebration of Her time with us
As others anticipate Her light
She bids adieu
The sky honors Her with color
The birds bow in collective silence
The wind settles in respect
And we serenade Her with our songs of thanks
I have mine
you have yours
they can be shared
but not given away
real
not always believable
present
without being seen
constant
without leaving a scent
they touch you
you can’t touch them
powerful, controlling, obsessive
fragile, compliant, restrained
they will rule you
if you let them
And then like a wave that comes from nowhere and crashes on the shore
the sun, fickle and flirty, decides to set
and hummingbirds grow quiet
and silence gets louder
and earth tucks itself in
and coyotes howl
and the sky becomes a colorful canopy
to make way for the stars to put on a show
that only nature sees
I enter its carefully lined path
neither precise, nor perfect and so it is
circuitous, meandering, purposeful
it beckons without agenda
dusty and worn, my shoes carry the scent of piñon
my slow, methodical steps begin to blend with my breath
left I inhale, right I exhale
thoughts are subdued
the sun rises over the peak, my shadow arrives
is that my step or my breath?
they’ve become indistinguishable
finally, I am home