I
I didn’t come up with heading west
it doesn’t belong to me just like the colorado state lines certainly don’t belong to us.
lines that were made up and land that was squandered when realizing how precious it is.
doubling a population with a tuberculosis diagnosis.
but I don’t think it’s the lungs the mountain air cures,
I think it’s the mind.
II
my mind is a slide show, moving too fast to pick out a single image.
heading west it becomes the minutes that feel like hours, admiring every brush stroke of one of the water lillies in a gallery
in town it’s so hot outdoor time doesn’t start until 8pm or else your shirt is damp with sweat in minutes.
heading west is fingers starting to chill and a bandana to keep the hair tame while refusing to roll up the windows from the cool breeze
a destination is usually a fixed point on a map.
heading west makes “we have arrived” an active verb that means dirt being kicked up under lazy mountain tries
heading west is pulling over because I thought I saw something pretty
heading west is
“do you hear that?”
“what?”
“nothing.”
heading west is bringing two camp chairs
just in case there’s company to be found around the campfire
“I haven’t done this since I was a kid”
heading west is remembering the joy of nature still belongs to you
heading west is realizing She has always been right there waiting for you to remember that you’re a part of her
heading west is “don’t forget your raincoat”,
a forecast of nothing but blue skies,
and thunder to lull you to sleep anyway
heading west is sitting in a hammock for so long the aspen trunks change from white to pale cream to a subdues tan painted over a base of green as the sun jogs across the sky
heading west is “are you going to bed?”
“well it’s dark out”
and
“we’re awake so early”
“well the sun is up”
heading west is
shorts
pants on
sweater on
sweater off
sweater on
socks on
back to barefoot
back to shorts
sweater off
sweater on
pants on
socks on
boots on
raincoat on
everything off
heading west is smiling and waving at the few souls you do pass,
because clearly a common spirit lives in us both