Sunday, March 24, 2013

El Paso to Houston


We are gaining speed
 I wait for the second it happens
The familiar pull, the drag, the weightless lift
We are up
The earth expands and shrinks
I can see more and less
Is the world more or less clear
From up here?
Do I know more about this city
Because I can see it from above?
Or
Is the truth in
The sand the cactus or the wind
The grit and heat of the desert?

Detached I watch the mountains
Ripple against the plain
The roads winding between endless horizons
I wonder
Who and what is down there?
What is it like to be there?
In that world?
Two feet on that land?

 The moment comes when we
Begin our return to earth
The engines cut power and
Measured descent begins
In the clouds we are tossed
By unseen currents
Flying blind through the clouds
Faith and instruments guiding us
 
Suddenly the clouds open
The world is green
Lush trees and water
A wet and foggy world
So far from the dryness of desert
We straighten ourselves and wait
Anticipate the transition that is landing
We have arrived  
But not yet home

Sunday, March 17, 2013

HIKING IN THE ARIZONA SUN


Hiking in the sun is
Less than fun
But it is instructive
The dangers controlled with
Sleeves, hat, water and sun screen
Special shoes to keep feet firmly on the trail
It’s the length of the challenge
A marathon of finishing
I start, hopeful
Imagining myself an explorer
A naturalist, a women of the wild
But soon my mind asks
How long?
When will it be over?

 It’s not something I admit
How could I?
Hiking is so virtuous
Environmental  and healthy
But fun?
Not  exactly
Too much vigilance is required
Rocks to trip
Vicious cactus to scratch and draw blood
Keep eyes and thoughts down
On the ground
Focused and concentrating
For long, very long minutes

There is the conversation
Challenged by single file
The questions, comments and musings
About topography, geology and botony
The best is the philosophical reflection
The exploration of the constant metaphors
About life
Taking wrong paths
Not reading the signs
Tempted by less travelled trails
Unmarked by wisdom
Perhaps travelled by fools
There is failing to look up
Fixated on the path
Too intent on avoiding risk
To see the beauty of the panorama
The sky, the vista and possibilities
Perhaps losing faith in finishing
Famished by the load
Dried by the sun
Exhausted by the climb
Losing joy in the journey
Wanting only the end 

Finally it does end
Back to the parking lot
And the question
How was it for you?
Did you like it?
And the response?
Of course
Ya it was great!
What trail should we try next?