Don't Take Love For Granite

02/23/22: First real day at the Norris Camp and Teaching Area in the Granite Mountains began with a hike to find the spring that might lead to a promise of birds and mammals. I was following the group on a trail that I believed to lead us to this spring. As my fellow peers got distracted by various plants, I continued on this trail. Eventually, I turned around to see that no one was nearby me and I had strayed from the group. Rather than turn around to find them again, I decided to continue on the trail until I found an adequate sitting rock.

There came a time when I lost the trail, but found the rock, so I decided to sit. I would learn the next day that the trail continues to the top of the ridge and would have a very intimate conversation with a new friend there. Likewise, I sat on this rock and stared at the horizon of mountains. The night prior was one with snowfall, the first snow I had ever seen as a native Floridian. The air was cold, the ground damp. I chose this space to reflect on the nature around me and how I related to them in regards to my personal relationships. Then, I began to write a poem that I later finished and presented to my class:

Maybe Tomorrow It Will Rain by Tayler King

When I was told the desert was desolate, I thought it absurd.

But only when I sat on this stone did I understand that this deafening silence was one I had always heard.

I, like the toads, bury myself beneath the dirt while it is dry and think,
Maybe tomorrow it will rain.
I, like the flowers, take up as little space as possible, I shrink,
Because maybe tomorrow it will rain.

I, like the ocotillo, wait to show my leaves
Maybe tomorrow it will rain.
I, like the creosote, take love and hoard it from thieves
Maybe tomorrow it will rain.

I, like the mesquite, reach deep, so deep
I, like the gray fox, I creep and creep
I, like the finch, don’t make a peep
And I, on this rock, fear to make the leap.

But as I watch the snow melt into the earth, turning the plants green and making the flowers bloom,
I hope that one day it will rain for me too.

Publicado el marzo 7, 2022 06:10 TARDE por taylertheking