Fossil Falls Poem

Beneath a rust-colored mountain, lava once raged

Its molten core splashing violently

Ready to erupt and destroy a desert plain

In its wake

It would dot the earth with porous black stone

Carving canyons into the dirt

Erasing scrub brush and sage

Decimating creatures who had no choice but to either die or evolve.

We set out on foot into these ruins, these landmarks, these fossils

The taste of love on our lips but still slightly too sweet to be spoken aloud

Here, I watch you scramble across chapparal, all boyish enthusiasm and glee.

You see a jack rabbit leap in front of you

The dog digs in puddles, muddy water spraying like caramel diamonds in the sun.

We see the glittering confetti of people of the past

Obsidian flakes aglow, glimmering, black shards of volcanic glass

This is all ours for the taking.

You ask me to think of this moment when it comes full circle in the future

And I take note of what it feels like to be

You, head down, blue eyes focused

Me, crouched, feeling the presence of artisans and lore.

You, determined, kind, enraptured.

Me, determined, kind, adored.

And though we don’t find what we thought we were looking for

We find so much more.

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