Lonepine in November

 

Lonepine in November

Every single leaf on the Cottonwood is yellow,

Silver Chollas are treasure for the wanderers.

A single cotton-top barrel cactus prominently displayed among the jumbo rocks,

Mobius arch flings us back in time.

When you grasped my thumb and walked with me in an olive sling,

Along for the ride.

Bay and Eucalyptus aromas,

imprinting steps and solace, 

Which materialize when you need them most.

His shadow and his little brother’s 

stretch among boulders in the Alabama hills,

Without any concern for the distance beneath their feet,

They scramble up a jagged crack,

Along a rock face protruding upward

A diving board in a sagebrush oasis.

My shadow shrinks, elbows across my eyes

There is no catching, no cushioning,

They ascend and find their own way down.

It took a two on two tussle,

Seizing of cell phones,

To make two teenagers come outside onto the sagebrush steppe,

Into the wilderness, a portal to Mt Whitney’s snowcapped,

sawtoothed frame.

Elevator sweep and a guard rear take down,

No trivial task but mom and dad tag team

Shake down, take down

Phones safely tucked into my yoga pant legs.

They munch on antacids and blow balloons up in our ears,

their minion rebellion,

In a car

Refusing to walk or explore,

Is this what they said teenage tyranny looks like? 

A raven perches on a dead branch on the Cottonwood,

stares across Owen’s valley.

His partner glides over my head. 

Wings stretched out wide, claws tucked in. 

They take in another human showdown,

For their next Western Hollywood playwright.

Fighter jets piercing the air up above,

Barely detectable, they tumble in the sky

And switch back the opposite direction.

Coots stepping on pondwater

Low pitched conversations

Lasting into the afternoon.

Teenage boys find what they need in a deserted lake

Along the 395.

One rigs up,

The other finds a basketball hoop

Parents vent along a shoreline decorated with reeds.

The sun sinks early on this side of the Sierras,

A two on two soccer match,

will close out the day

Nuttmegging each other,

fishing for a soccer ball,

Caught off guard by a family photo.

And, finally they are satisfied,

To check their notifications,

Instagram and YouTube,

Connecting them back to their tribes,

Parents put their hands up and go for a hike,

To brainstorm their counter attack,

For the next day.