Forty Day Ramble, part 3

[mnaz]

I went down to the land of Moab to rest upon a sandstone ledge and reach into a pocket of sand for grains of an exploded galaxy, finely-striated, broken loose from the sun's pockmarked face, if I could get the dosage right. Motion is life. Motion curses life. I had my options. I resolved to stay put until philosophy and faith were beaten out of me by that same pitted star.... sky-high intensity.... But it wasn't always so.

I followed the powerlines out of Vegas because I liked what they did with the juice. I had to see where it came from. I had the right dosage.... it crackled through me, vaguely over my head, a hellish fluid sweep of God's scorched earth, until it washed over the next defeated ridge, and I repeated steps one and two. A perfect full circle. Science can be like that.

I followed a rise off the floor of Death Valley, where someone counted on extracting great wealth out of a destitute slope. Faith knows no boundaries. I saw the ruins. At the top of the rise, I beheld a tranquil, inviting playa.... and a government sign.... "Warning, Unexploded Ordinance". I do appreciate the warning.

I followed a trail into sprinkled foothills, the beating heart of New Mexico, a religion of rare light. I came upon a locked gate and another government sign. It was just over the next ridge where the first atomic bomb left a perfect scar on a bright countenance. A perfect full circle. Science can be like that. I do appreciate science.

Thank the bright blue ocean and its markets for the opportunity of a dilemma, same as I thank a bright blue mirage, boiling over the playa. Reality still avoids my well-considered questions, though surely it will claim the opposite. So I'll stay low, under the grid. The lowest basins reveal passages through the swelter, beneath the surface.

[Lightning Rod]

god, I love this, mnaz

you paint pictures like pastel on sandstone

your rhythm and syntax is like warm milk

let us travel with you

[mnaz]

thanks, Lightning....

There's just something about about the scale of those places.... the earth in its most elemental form. I hate running into fences out there....

[mtmynd]

mark - this is a damn good read. keep 'em coming when the inspiration hits. thumbs up!