view through my windshield
painted on the sky
leaving me staggered
shattered
broken down on the side of the road
never saw it coming
awe-struck dumb and stunned
by the sheer magnitude
of the natural beauty displayed
arrayed through that pane of tempered glass
watercolor pastel palette
a cloud for every hue
soft sunset rays filtered just so
just right
backlighting the backdrop
layer upon layer of clouds
of every shape and size
clouds upon clouds upon clouds
the depth was astounding
as if seeing all three dimensions for the very first time
hundreds of miles away
yet it looked like I could run my fingers through it
and smear it all over

something about that scene
something snapped in me
so suddenly my eyes were filled with salt
so I could no longer see
the glory that had overtaken me
and that I had lost this wondrous sight
only pained me all the more
and I had to stop and sit and stare
because I could not let it go
I couldn't simply pass it by
without a chance to drink it in
and quench my thirst of it
until I had let it wring out of me
every last drop of poison