#NewThisDay Writing From My Photo Stream
Leaving the trailhead, the Saguaro
“A yellow leaf in the branches
Of a shamel ash
In the front yard;
Nothing striking, striped, stripped,
Strident, nothing
More than its yellow
On this day,
Which is enough, which makes me
Think of it later in the day,
Remember it in conversation
With a friend,
Though I do not mention it—
. . . .”
I walked in the desert this morning. Here I am in Arizona. After landing, I drove straight to a hike I found by googling hikes in Scottsdale. First, I stopped for water. Plenty of water. Then I drove to the trailhead of the Mcdowell Sonoran Preserve. I chose to take the four and a half mile hike – the Gateway Trailhead. The sun grew very hot and so did I; but I felt so stimulated by the landscape, the views, the Saguaro and all the unfamiliar plants. I felt the joy of being on my adventure, step by step, finding my way, being here now. Above, I chose this excerpt from “A Yellow Leaf,” because Alberto Rios was the first poet laureate of Arizona. And because I feel like this, often. That the beautiful, simple, natural things growing in the landscape I view come back to me later in the day. I carry them with me into the day. I let them nourish me, secretly, all day long. Sweetly, I received two phone calls while hiking: my youngest (who reminded me to drink water) and my husband. I carry them with me too. I found my hotel, I easily found my way to the Power of Words conference and met old and new friends, including a colleague from the International Women’s Writing Guild, whom I didn’t expect to see. So, even though we’ve never held this conference here in Arizona, I feel the sense of homecoming. I am still on Eastern time; it’s three hours later for me and I feel groggy and a little dizzy with exhaustion, and so I’ll sleep now, as I hope to wake early and go to my friend’s conference presentation: first thing. I am so grateful, so happy to have landed on this journey, into this wonderful habitat, where I have so much to see and learn and express and discover and share.
Lizard on a red rock
