Western Water

Rivulets cascade down the slope

Picking up speed as they rush along

Eager to join together as one flowing body

Growing larger with each passing minute

Rushing as if it knows time is short

And soon the dry earth will dominate again

Until the sky again releases its gift

In another cycle, another season’s time

Cool and nourishing, it replenishes life

It is the giver and savior

The sound of it brings joy and hope

Without it, all withers and dies

It is the shaper, the builder, and the destroyer

Canyons form at its touch over eons

Mountains wither and shrink

It carves and moves, irresistible

Mountain creeks feed mountain lakes

Meadows bloom above valleys

Brooks become streams become rivers

Rivers become legends

Around boulders, scraping junipers

Washing away and revealing the traces of the ancient ones

It is soft and caressing, sharp and cutting

An overwhelming force of the universe

It cannot be tamed, or conquered, or ignored

It can only be anticipated

cherished

or wasted

I awaken and gaze at the cactus

Waves of heat shimmer across the land

Junipers stretch toward the cloudless sky

It was only a dream of salvation

Photo by Lightning Ross aka Ross Maynard

© 2008