Up In Smoke

Desert

overnights

by

campfire

firelight

smoking

the

peace

pipe

surrounding

us

protecting

us

are

the

layered

orange-

rust

canyon

walls

within

this

enclosure

I

worry

I

ruminate

and

wander

until

I

pause…

what

a

pleasure

is

this

place

this

company

this

family

this

love

this

bright

golden

light

and

I

notice

a

single

tree

which

seems

familiar

to

me

gradually

I

find

certainty

this

is

my

family

tree

complete

with

strong

branches

new

leaves

and

deep

roots

which

despite

the

years

of

abuse

the

storms

and

wild

fires

despite

the

strife

this

is

the

ever

growing

tree

of

life

standing

before

me

a

peaceful

ally

in

death

valley

it

promises

me

support

and

structure

for

now

and

the

future

and

I

drop

to

my

knees

and

I

pray

finally

able

to

say

to

God

what

I

have

always

wanted

to

say

and

later

at

night

we

play

our

music

singing

the

old

songs

everyone

knows

which

float

out

on

smoke

streams

smoke

rings

smoke

signals

the

fires’

dreams

into

the

star

light

star

bright

sky

a

lullaby

for

earth

and

heaven