At first Paul did not realize he stopped.
No forward motion.
Momentum set him down at an edge
of a deep gorge with rushing wind.
The fickle wind pushed him away
then drew him closer.
Over the gorge a blue whale floated
blimp-like, aware it was out of place.
Paul estimated the whale at forty-six feet.
He doubted that was why he stood at the edge.
The whale moved south with the current
of the Rio Grande rushing deep in the gorge.
Paul supposed the whale to be a misplaced balloon
from Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
He noted there were no guylines attached to the whale
yet it kept to the swiftest channel.
Three hundred and ninety-seven miles to El Paso.
Migrants south of the river sensed something askew.
copyright © 2023 Kenneth P. Gurney
Umflop 