We've been flung out over water like skipping stones,
not on a lake or pond, but the long, wide, never ending
turquoise blue ocean of the Pacific, soaring in a metal
tube while everything that followed us arrived by barge
as these things do, back and forth to the blessed
Hawaiian islands, and it's a long, arduous journey
we have come to appreciate increasingly the further
away we are, and the more we settle our belongings,
the dogs likely forgetting soft green grass
and ocean sands, learning instead not to step
on cactus spines and various stickers, how to stand
back when a mountain lion appears out of the shadows
and they are keen on her scent, how to call for help
when there's a rattlesnake in their outdoor hay beds;
The paradox of this particular paradise is that we lead
runaway lives, one of us driving hours to and from work,
the other motoring miles just to obtain sustenance,
vast spaces ringed by mountain ranges ever in view,
endless open skies that become mirrors of oceans
in other worlds more our familiar, settling to sleep
with the sounds of elk chuffing and bugling
in the near distance, the soft hooting of an owl;
screech of some wildcat or a chorus of coyotes
is a sort of rapture, drawing us further away
from memories of other places and into the ground
of this high dry forest, and we settle like boulders
and sand after a monsoon flood, crashing over
whatever is in its path, be it a rusty old car
or the lone highway, and the stars! The closeness
of sky at nearly eight thousand feet altitude,
thin crispness of morning air as I step into boots,
don down and wool for our morning walk;
This is a land of juxtapositions, not the watercolor
wonder of the islands, harsh winds rather than soft
caressing breezes, near freezing mornings morphing
into blazing hot afternoons, cooling off again
in the evening for sleeping, dreaming, and the stark
pale moon rises as we gather into one another,
while the wild creatures cruise mountains and forests,
settling down for the night in trees or fields,
tucking tiny beaks into fluffed-out chest feathers
or huddling close as steam rises from warm bodies
attuned to imperceptible sounds and shifts in this
high desert landscape, and we have come to appreciate
a culture that celebrates white bones
and dancing skeletons, honoring death with as much
reverence as the abundant Hawaiian life, awakened
by fire and mellowing into golden sunset glows.
storm over Taos ~ bj 2023
Desert clouds ~ bj 2023
Sunset over Kohala ~ bj 2021
Loved reading your Muse Bela, as your environment now so different from the one you left. I reckon you have adjusted well, as you ran away from one beauty, and then ran into more beauty of a different kind..
Beautiful skies, even when full of storm clouds..
Sending Love and Hugs my friend.. <3 💛✨💛
ESPECIALLY with storm clouds! I find that here, the sky really IS the ocean! So the more activity, the more interest, if that makes sense. We see clouds we’ve never seen anywhere else – mammatus most remarkably, lots of lenticular clouds.
At these altitudes, a stark blue sky with blazing sun is less desirable than some relief in the land/skyscape. So yes, we have adapted, really think we’ll be here for awhile. I missed water SO much at first, as you would, I am certain! Always having lived on an ocean or lake or both. But we go down to the river every week, which soothes my soul. Rivers have their own energy, for sure. Mountains to the sea! Though most are robbed of water for cities/larger populated areas before getting there. And there certainly are big problems resulting from not enough rain, snowfall, etc to feed said rivers.
The future anywhere is uncertain of course, but the future of these desert communities – especially indigenous communities – is very much at risk. We shall see what Mother Nature has in store!
Sending love and all best wishes, my friend! 💓
Let us Pray that Mother Nature is kinder to those who nurture her spirit.. While I feel she will bring a few lessons we may all learn from..
Thank you for sharing dear Bela.. and yes I live only 90 miles from the ocean.. Yet I have not been near it in nearly 4 years.. But I do go to a nature reserve a lake.. and yes.. Rivers and streams here are plenty.. In fact our local River recently bursts its banks with so much rainfall.. Flooding in the UK at the moment after Storm Babet. Some are having a tough time as homes and business flooded out..
Sending love and Hugs right back <3 xx
Yup! East coast this year. Floods everywhere – and in Montpelier VT where i went to college, the river overflowed its banks and people were paddling around the village in canoes! Businesses were badly flooded – but Vermonters are tough. They will help one another rebuild. We surely could use some of that water here! 😀
Praying you get some rain for you Bela xx I can always send you our surplus we’ve have plenty this year.. xx
You and so many I know! Yes! Send! 😀 if only …
🙂
Amazing skies! Every landscape has its own gifts. (K)
It surely does. 💜
This is a touching, vivid description of the world around you, Bela. Nature around you sounds so beautiful. The cloud in your photo are so stunning. I think they emphasise the gravity of beauty so abundant around us in nature.
I like how you said it, ‘the paradox of paradise’. There’s always two sides to everything, and our experiences where we are is what we make of it – or at least the best of it. It sounds like a symphony of creatures out in the wild, and it does sound quite entertaining.
‘the stark pale moon rises as we gather into one another’ is also another line that I liked. We come together when there is light – but I think sometimes we just know when to gather collectively.
It is a lovely to see read you and see you again, Bela. Hope you have been settling in well. Hugs across the miles to you 😊❤
Thanks so much, Mabel! We have indeed settled in, though I suspect it won’t be our last move – we are considering relocating closer to Santa Fe in the late spring/early summer if conditions are favorable. Neither of us has ever lived in a city, but Santa Fe is pretty low-key in that regard. It would be nice to be nearer community and cultural attractions, and it seems time in our lives for such things, but we are giving the idea until next year to more fully ripen or fall off the vine! 😝
I have been away from WP for awhile, so had to re-read my piece! You mention writer’s block in your latest post, and I can relate to a fallow period in my life of late, but cannot attribute it to anything in particular. The weather has shifted suddenly from unseasonably warm to very cold, and perhaps this precipitates an inner shift as well, for all I want to do these days is hunker down and do … nothing much. But I try not to be hard on myself, as things always change.
Sending you blessings for a beautiful summer season there below the equator, Mabel! Enjoy it however you can! 🌈✍🏼♥️
Oooh, you are already thinking about another move soon! Amazing you make that lifestyle work for you. Definitely an idea to sit on and see where it takes you. Who knows, maybe you will really end up moving to Sante Fe…or maybe elsewhere! Regardless of where you may go next, I look forward to hearing about it all.
Understandable you have to re-read your piece having been away from WP. I probably have been away longer than you. And now that I am back (for now), I realised that the comments box and things have changed – am figuring my way around 😄 I saw your lovely comment on my blog – it went to Trash so I rescued it, and will get to it.
I hope it doesn’t get too cold for you. It IS about inner shifts as the seasons change…and solstice is coming up. Summer is already here and feels like it is going by too fast. I will enjoy every moment of it. Take care, Bela. May nature and the skies guide you 😊🙏❤
Aww, Mabel – you are the best! Thank you so much (as Always) for your kind and insightful comments! I feel so blessed to know you, or know you exist in our world. What a gift. We are exploring all avenues these days, even returning to Hawaii, which would be a bold and Huge move. So much in the way logistically. But not yet. We need to wait out the winter anyway. Not a good time to sell our beautiful ranch – wait until the river is flowing and the cottonwoods are blossoming. So beautiful! Blessings to you, dear one. Enjoy your summertime! Love, Bela
You are very kind, Bela. Thank you for your nice words. But I feel like it’s the other way round – that I am so blessed to know you all these years and our paths crossed 😊 Going back to Hawaii sounds like a big and bold idea, Who knows. You have options and there is fun and excitement in exploring options. I hope you will be guided to the right place.
I will enjoy every bit of summer time here. It never isn’t long enough for me 😄💛
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