Where We Settle

Where We Settle



The distant rumbling grows louder -
as afternoon turns pale gray

Thunderous applause follows the flashing lights -
of an extravagant electric opera

Buckets dump on this dry ground -
where we settled after the last storm

As rock formations wear away -
we become their descendants 

My surface is smoothed by every grain of beige sand
After millenia a shine emerges

Soon this passing shower will cease -
leaving our bellies to sink deeper in red clay

Reflecting wisdom to an open blue sky -
as the swell of flash floods dry out

We are legion here in a dry river bed
Congregating with nature's slow push

Our shared thoughts become a note
Whistling with every gust through the falling hills

Further down the warm desert floor is bare
The first signs of migration not yet born

The old ones claim it's only a matter of time-
before we conquer it

Pondering the journey with every inch
Leaving a bit of ourselves scraped away

Sometimes there's a face on the water
Where we settle after the rain









A mountain becomes a desert over time...