AT THE SCENIC OVERLOOK, THERE WAS A BENCH. BUT HE SAT ON A ROCK INSTEAD.

MARCH 16, 2013

the sound of distant laughter
floated into his ear like an un-

invited bug, so he kept moving
walking climbing up and up and

up until it was gone. long gone.
he would walk, and then stop:

standing still for long minutes,
just listening. to the desert silence.

red rock and cactus in every
direction and the dirt beneath

his feet. and the sound of it
crunching and the soft thud of

his feet landing as he walked, then
again the silence of stillness. a lizard

scurries under a bush. two female
elk watch from a cautious distance.

deep in a gully far off any path, he
finds a small pool of water, the

faintest trickle dripping off a
rocky ledge. he calls it a water-

fall, smiling. turns out, you can
find water in the desert. but

not by following any beaten path.