Wake up, orange light illuminates, warms the air

Kick off my bright blue sleeping bag

Pullover my mud brown hoody

Slip on my bright blue hat

Unzip my door

Slide my feet into my neon green sandals

Stumble onto the rain drop decorated dusty ground

Zip, zip, breath in the desert air

Fill the teapot with fresh mountain water

Light the match, then the stove

Listen to the flames roar

Pour the coffee ground

Pour the boiling water

Pour the milk

Sit to the south and taste my coffee

Feel the eastern sun warm my left cheek

Listen to the pinion jay say its peace

Watch the clouds slowly drift on the brilliant blue sky

Name the clouds

Now cook up a ranchers breakfast

Smell the hatch chill and let my senses bring back distant memories

Fill my belly

Now pull on weathered clothes

Spray on sun protectant

Get to work under the hot desert sky

My skin darkens,

Dust sticks to my sweat

My lips thirst

The afternoon desert heat hits it’s peak

Time to rest, to cool, to hide from the heat

Drive the gravel roads to the Rio Grand

Feel the bumps, the erosion, the potholes

Travel down to where the earth rips apart

Park by the river

Place my chair in the shallow waters

Let the water rush over my  feet

Let the valley wind brush my cheek

When the sun warms me, I wade into the deep roaring waters

Drop below the surface

It wants to pull me away

But I hold on

The cool lush valley soothes me, hides me from the heat

Time to fill my belly

Pull up to a weathered building

Different, but the same

The smell of cleaning disinfectant and stale bear

Dogs lay untethered and loyal

A gin and tonic with refreshing ice

A frito pie warm, spicy, frenchy

Feels like home

Listen to my fathers stories, things I’ve never heard

Listen to the local speak their tales

The heat has finally passed, back to camp

Pull our chairs to the southern sky

Overlook the mesa

Filled with pinion trees, juniper, safe, cactus and giant stones

Sit and talk

Sit and watch the clouds turn to fire

Listen to the songs of the evening birds

Listen to the wild dogs of the mesa bark

Walk the gravel road to the west

Mountain tops kiss a blood orange sky

Gently fades from sunset to twilight

Now if I am lucky the clouds will part

Peaks of a starry sky

Untouched by city lights

The milky way paints itself on a dark black canvas

Stars twinkle

They build stories, heroes, creatures, and gods.

Eyelids growing heavy

Stumble towards my place of rest

Unzip my tent

Slide off my neon green sandals

Zip, zip

Take off my tired clothes

Put on old black sweat pants and an old green tee

Slip under my bright blue sleeping bag

Just in time the clouds have returned to tell their story

To tuck me into bed

Coyotes howl together in a chaotic rhythm

The rain drops start to pitter

Start to patter on the top of my tent

Tuck away my light

Tuck away my glasses

Rest my head on my pillow

Listen to the stories of the sky

Rain drops put me in a trance

Thunder rumbles

Lightening illuminates the orange fabric protecting me from the storm

Eventually the sky lies its dramatic tales to sleep

I drift off in unison.