Desert Oasis
Joshua Tree, 2008
We hike through rock formations, the sun and heat lapping at us. I carry my orange umbrella. Arrive at the oasis, where I had last been many years ago. The lush palm trees and vegetation have not changed. My sister and her partner explore the area, yet I prefer to take in the land, through my body. I look around and find a flat open area between two palm trees. I check for anything living. The concentration of life here is such that I don’t want to share my sleeping space. Seemingly alone, I curl up on the rocks and dirt. I am able to sleep anywhere now, not feeling a difference between rock and a bed. I watch birds in the palms above me. Crickets scream and lament. I am in one of the moments of stillness that I so crave. I feel myself drifting off. Everything is where it needs to be in my life. I fall into myself.
My sister intakes her breath so loudly that it’s almost a scream, a hushed scream.
“I almost stepped on it.”
The “it” being
a curled up rattle snake
sleeping a few feet away
from my sleeping body.
Was it there all along?
Did I really curl up and fall into sleep
next to a sleeping snake?
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All images and writing are copyrighted. These stories will be published by 2012.
Printed version available upon request.
All feedback and comments are welcome. Please send to blissmeander at gmail.com
All images and writing are copyrighted. These stories will be published by 2012.
Printed version available upon request.
All feedback and comments are welcome. Please send to blissmeander at gmail.com