By chris
Date: 2008 Jun 07
Comment on this Work
[[2008.06.07.01.39.1225]]

Rise and Bank

Above the trail
in Copper Canyon,
737s rise
and bank
from the airport you can
see
shimmering
at the high point of the walk -
along with Central Avenue
and the Air Force base
and the Sex Tourism
district
and all the best
parts of
town.

And when no one else is around
and you're alone enough
to be surprised,
you see the knife-like
shadows
suddenly
flick across desert grassland
dried to a crisp
but still containing more color
than
you can stand
and look up,
losing your balance
for a moment
as the world tilts
then
returns.

In a land of mirages,
learn
to take nothing
at face value -
not the water you can smell
hidden in the sand
under your feet
or the woman in the trail ahead
of you,
stepping aside
for you to pass -
muzzled rottweiler,
boy shorts too short,
scorpion tat in the damp
small
of the back -
whose black Lumina bakes
somewhere
far off with a bumper
sticker saying,
"If you're going to ride my ass
at least pull my hair."