smoky amble
barely keyed snake
tongue-dart nosing
between sage branches
between flirts and pitches
re-dried noodles
charred firestones
just enough motion
to glide sound
barrelhead cactus
red bloom fires
living room escape
deer scat pebbly mounds
scree scramble
calm whiptail attention
in heated-rock sunlight
turquoise rimmed vugg
granite alleyway
secret up the valley walls
finger brushes million year old
weather stains
peace yearning musician
seated in stream bed greenway
native flute notes crabapple blossoms
toe tap on water rounded stones
call to serendipitous friends
a silvery flask tipped
no, a stainless water bottle
a twirl of bushtits
a solitary sandhill crane
way far from the river
copyright © 2020 Kenneth P. Gurney