I walk along the ridge,
the grey of smoke
smothers the mountains,
burns my nostrils
to remind me that even
in the midst of spacious
un bounding beauty,
there can be an invisible scar.
The old lab
meanders behind me,
his heavy footed gait
and bobbing head
taking in the width
of this vast land….
He reminds me of other days,
not that long ago
when he would bound
into the sage
barking
full throttle
and flush
the unsuspecting sage grouse….
Time has no mercy
it weaves our stories
throughout
this land
and in the winter
they melt into the snows
of days gone by….
into the shadows
of all the songs
we have sung:
thunder claps
and raging winds,
only to hear them
echoed back
many years later
in the sunset
of this autumn day.
You will quietly stop
the mind’s song
soon,
like the tired thrush
or weakened meadow lark
whose last call
sinks
into the eve’s misty sunset,
and I, your hija lejana
walking in the Rockies
will be with you
past the long
years,
the ups and downs
of your heart,
the angers of your mind
the muddle of your life,
holding
clear
a last vision
past this day
and time:
I see you
strong:
a tall latino,
full head of wavy
salt and pepper hair
proud bearing
of
Bedouin ancestry,
laughing
flashing
that slightly
lascivious grin
every woman
within 100 miles
would run to greet.
Oh, father
what irreverent greetings
you shared with the ladies,
dances
when cheek to cheek
seemed too mild
for your huge hands,
and how you filled
the space with genuine
adventurous tales
they could never resist.
I see you early in the dawn’s light
tired from the night’s revelry,
but your mind filled
with metaphors
anxious to be spilled
onto the simple
composition books
wherein you spilled your guts,
dreams,
frustrations
joys
your life…..
Today, I feel that song
the long one
trying to fade
but still
lingering
so as not to miss
that one last vision,
the perfect image
you need
to fill your soul
as you drift
to the other side
where all the life
you lived
will shift
like the light of this hazy day
into a long line of grey
quiet
peaceful
endless…..