you are my green chile
kokopelli dream
soft sound of hiking boots
tapping on sandstone
my sun, uninterrupted
blessing mesas
the aqua blue of desert skies
set against canyons calling
in sacred language of silence
scents of cedar, earth and peace
you reset me
44 words is a quadrille, our original poetry form at
Merril is our host and the given word is “set”. Feel free to join in.
Turquoise skies blend into ebony
Over mesa horizons
Clouds give a glorious wink
Before caressing canyons
Raindrops tease in random spurts
Glossing earth’s parched lips
Dust rises in protest
Then succumbs to the deluge
Dampening desert dreams
I inhale the petrichor
And the moment
Its Quadrille time! Write a poem of 44 words, excluding the title. De is our host and her chosen word to include is “wink”. Join in the fun at dVerse Poets Pub.
Image credit: pixabay.com
Curves are the inspiration for the Weekly Photo Challenge. I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use this photo. You can find many more interpretations at The Daily Post.
Southwestern skies create a soothing back drop for miles along desert roads of New Mexico. This photo was taken on the way back from exploring the Badlands.
Driving south on Highway 125 towards Las Cruces, Nogal Canyon is a slight little dip along the way.
There’s one in every major desert? Hard Rock Cafe makes it’s presence known against blue skies and cacti on the way to Albuquerque.
Autumn adds colour to the drab of the desert. A blurry but beautiful western scene accompanies us on the way to Socorro, NM.
Life is like hide and seek
Burying your faults under fuzzy blankets
Searching for truths and treasures
In dark alleys of your mind
Before lights fade and you are called home
Ready or not here we come
But we are not searching
Until we look into a baby’s eyes
And find the sea
You are not playing this game
It plays you
Until you realize
The hourglass is nothing but sand
To sift between your fingers
And toss into the wind
You have already won
When you stand silent on the mesa
Sunlight blessing your face
Tracing the shadows of the eagle’s talons
Looking over this canyon
You know
You know that you are
In that one place
That grabs you
By the corners of your mouth
And lifts you up
Elated for the moment
Enlightened forever
Exploring nature’s playgrounds of white wispy clouds, chiseled mountains, ancient rock, soft sands and intricate cacti is at the top of my favourite things to do.
This week’s photo challenge brought me back to the desert.
Out here
I could slip away
Fall through the cracks of
Time and existence
Mesmerized
By all that it is,
Unstirred and forsaken
Cosmic creation
A sweeping silence
That deafens the demons
And nourishes the soul
These are not bad lands
#11.”The best fry bread I’ve ever had was made by an elderly Navajo woman at the edge of a dusty road leading to Shiprock, New Mexico.”
New Mexico is my other home. It was there that I met my husband and discovered a new landscape. I fell in love with both of them.
There is a peaceful feeling that I can only find there, a need to explore the rock formations and lonesome desert flowers, a desire to just sit and feel the sun caress my soul. I have had many opportunities to see the Land of Enchantment but this particular adventure will be forever imprinted in my mind.
This was a day trip in the Four Corners Area highlighted with a visit to “Shiprock”.
We were travlling on Red Rock Highway that takes you to this glorious sight. At the side of this deserted road, we could see the figure of an elderly woman dressed in a long dark skirt sitting by an outdoor grill of some type. As we drove closer, I insisted that we stop. My sons were with us and I believed this was one of those “once in a lifetime, you just have to stop” moments.
Getting out of the car, the aroma of oil and bread combined was surprisingly wonderful. The desolate desert backdrop transported us to a place of long ago, of recipes passed down….a place of simplicity, family and survival.
As we approached her, she smiled slightly, which pronounced the deep wrinkles set into her weathered face. Her long hair was pulled back with a beaded barrette but the dry wind of the southwest sent it in a few different directions. As she poked at her creation in a cast iron skillet, I noticed her hands. This was a working woman. She placed the fry bread on a paper plate and handed it to us.
I pondered about what this meant to her compared to what it meant to us.
This was her living. This was our…..hmm…..entertainment?
Fry bread was a common staple to her.
Perhaps to us it was an initiation into an unknown land that was only a privilege to visit.
We paid her the four dollars she had advertised with her cardboard sign and thanked her. The bread was round, flat, yet puffy, soft and warm…..delicious. Our first bite could not wait until we returned to our car. We were in the moment, cacti at our feet, surrounded by blue skies and sunshine. Most of all, I think we honored the old woman by eating it right away. It was too good to wait for. Driving away, I thought about the way we had a brief encounter with another place, another time and then we simply moved on. We leave it there and come away with a few photos and a memory. We carry on with our travels, our lives, our problems, our ways, but our past is someone else’s present. The native woman selling fry bread still sits there, waiting for her next customer to slow down, completely intrigued by her or maybe just hungry.
Shiprock is the name of the small town governed by the Navajo Nation as well as the amazing landmark itself. This magnificent peak rises 1500 feet above you, but it is not the height that makes this formation unique. It stands out in an otherwise barren and flat desert plain, and the shape of Shiprock reminds me of Disneyland. The only difference was that this magical place is real. Geologically speaking, it is a stunning tower of volcanic rock, the neck of a volcano that erupted millions of years ago, with rugged walls of lava leading out of it. To the Navajo people however, Shiprock is a sacred monument. They strictly prohibit anyone from approaching this religious and historical site that they call “Tse Btai”. As I looked towards this masterpiece of nature and the long, dusty road towards it, my husband warned me that we could only admire it from afar. That was fine with me. As much as I love to be hands on and this mountain screamed “climb me”, I found myself scanning the wide open desert, half expecting someone of authority to jump out of nowhere or fire off a few warning shots. It was not the only thing that stopped me from getting closer to Tse Btai. I felt a presence. It was as though a spiritual circle surrounded this beautiful creation. The Navajo have many stories and legends about their “rock with wings”. It didn’t matter what Shiprock meant to me because what it meant to others brought it to life.
This isn’t really about Shiprock.
It is about appreciating a natural wonder without touching it, without invading it, allowing the wind to be the only one to carve and caress it.
It’s about restraint and respect of others beliefs.
This isn’t really about the fry bread.
It’s about a quiet lady at the side of a dusty, desert road, trying to make a living and at the same time, upholding the traditional ways of her culture.
It’s about entering another world, another time, another feeling and then leaving it behind.
It’s an exchange between curiosity and a few dollars. It’s real. It’s pure. It’s sharing at its best.
Mind sinking into neutral gear
While car just never stops
Blurs of beauty to my right
Desert dreams to my left
Hiking mountains in my mind
As colours sweep by in foreign hues
Land of enchantment at my door
But I can only take these shots
Good intentions, greater hopes
All but shatter in the wind
I reach to hold on to a cloud
As shadows race across the sky
Destination pushes on
Journey…………lost
My heart is pulling over
Aching for my feet to touch ground
mishunderstood 