I drove down state road seventeen
without seeing a single car.

It was sunny, arguably first days of spring.

Mexican men worked in the apple orchards.
They stood on ladders, pruning branches in a cloud of pink apple blossoms.

Smoke streams from my window, static hangs over the voices on the radio.

I turn right at grainery, I find the first town for miles.

After a high narrow bridge over Snake River,
I pull off near an abandon barn and take a ****.

I wonder how many people have killed themselves jumping from that bridge.
To live in isolation, and still be unable to escape. What do they run from?

There is no sound anywhere, except for me urinating.
Not the wind, nor animals, or machines. Only me.

Back on the road I drive on the edge of valley after valley.
The sun folds the sky into different shades.

The hills of the valleys are smooth from
millions of years of wind and rain.

The soil is thick with the silt of ashes, and sand.
The hills roll onward, almost forever.

I think back to the Mexican men working in the orchards.
Do they thank the rain, the silt, the rock?

Do I?

I approach my destination.
I greet my friend.

I observe his toddler as it learns to walk.

That night, my friend and I sit on stools.
In between drinks, I ask my friend,
"Do you thank the rain, the silt, and the rock?"

"When I remember to," he said.

In the car, making your way along the highway,
You catch a glimpse of a deer behind a thicket in the forest.
Without thinking twice, you slow your car to a halt.

As you open the door, you feel the cold air of the mountain pass.
The sound of rushing water isn't far from you.
You go around to the back of your car and pull something out of the trunk.

In the next days, few people drive by your car on that isolated stretch of highway.
The door and trunk were left open, seemingly awaiting your momentary return.
No one is inclined to investigate, though you are nowhere to be found.

After a couple of days, someone reports the abandon car, and an officer arrives.
A quick search through the car reveals a collection of spearheads.
The officer calls the police station for assistance, then proceeds into the forest alone.

Making his way through the thicket, the officer finds the handle of a spear shaft.
Continuing in further, the roar of the river begins filling his ears.
Upon approaching the river's edge, he catches a glimpse of a deer across the river.

Morning stretches across the window.
Soles stretch for the earth.
The sun yawns over the mountains,
pushing shadows over the landscape.
The sun dances over our hearts.

Passion like ocean froth, and love like
the face of rock.
Wind blows in from sea,
and it sounds of your name.

Salt sticks to your skin,
Ocean and sweat meet.
We stand around talking.
Eventually your job is done,
We leave in a cloud of smoke

The moon hangs in a crescent.
We throw horseshoes around a spike.
You tell jokes.
I taste the salt on your lips.

I'm headed South with you.
You could be furious, at me and the world.
We have wronged you all of our lives,
Instead you invite us into you,
You share yourself with us.

It's night time and we lay down together,
your body is smouldering,
The sun seeks refuge. but your rage doesn't relent.
My love for you is tempered with respect.

I respectfully head further South,
untied to geography, falling to the equator,
and the wet heat envelopes me.

You are burning, burning me.
We sweat through the warmth for each other's touch.
In the open window, the leaves laugh at us,
their laughs kiss us.

This movement is lasting in the moment.
and your words are your love for me,
and so is your touch, your smile, and your kiss.

And you lay me down.

Life is like a journey
Following roads without a map
Travelling far before turning back
Never to return

Hello, lover
I had been waiting for us to meet and love.
We will part for but a moment.
It is nice to see you again, and I wish to see you more often.
Please stay the night with me.
Are you hungry? Are you cold?
Would you like to take a walk?
You get ready before we go out.
You look beautiful in front of the mirror,
I watch like a child.
The day delights in you, the night absorbs you.
I hold you tight so they don't take you.
You say we will part for but a moment.
But a moment later, and you're still gone.
Has the time of day taken you?
Will the night absorb you?
Is this goodbye, lover?