Mountains

White Mountains

A distant promise of adventures unrealized
The beauty of the seemly out of place
Nothing special anywhere else
But the heat of the desert in winter
Creating a strange normality.

Brown Mountains

Daytime in fall
Or false winter to locals
Cold but still looking like a movie set
Allergies from wind where nothing grows
A barren moonscape, given life and meaning.

Grey Mountains

The haze of “I’ll never get used to this view”
Traffic, fire, smoke, and the desert badlands
A kabuki backdrop to slots in the grocery store
The fantasy of mystery hills
Rather than where we went hiking over the weekend.

Pink Mountains

Dawn. And the view of those up too early
Black highways and the sodium halide cellophane of suburbia
An unreal unveiling of what is to come
No shepherds to see superstitious warnings
Only traffic lights to direct flocks

Red Mountains

Mother nature is a showoff
Not content with blood red skies
She boils the earth to the color of lava
A relief for baseball games and barbeques
Inspiration for juxtaposing photographers and poets

Sand Mountains

The oven dryness of the heat of the day
T-shirts, shorts, chapped lips, and the need for air conditioning
Hospitality in this most obvious of inhospitable places
A place for demons and families
A vacation spot by the pool.

I love coming home to where others vacation
The bright lights and silliness of a tourist mecca
And the conveniently small city beyond
Surrounded by the even present mountains
Who leave their footprints in our thoughts – between distractions.