having spent days in the bright sun,
absent of all worldly influences,
with nothing but the sound of the winds and passing ravens ~

i left feeling fully and totally at peace.

i wandered the mountains touching ancient rocks with my hands
and gathering dust on my cowboy boots.
i crept around ghost towns, and was fooled by the salt flats into thinking
i had seen an oasis. ( i SO get that mirage thing now)

i saw the earth and the horizon change colors in a light i had never seen before.

i collected stories from strangers who didnt feel so strange, because after all,
i was doing the same thing they were ~ finding refuge in a desert. and
this place only attracts a certain kind of folk.

it was truly a mystical trip for me.

i am now back in vegas ~ and am unable to manage the energy of the casinos, the titty bars, the miles of shops, and the yucky feel i have when i see the lonely old woman playing for hours at the nickel slots ~ waiting for a machine to save her from her dread.

so i grab my ipod and shut out the chatter.
and close my eyes and shut out the flashing bling.
and i smell my jasmine lotion and shut out the smoke.
and i pretend i am back in death valley,
fearing if i dont hold tightly enough, i will forget it.

and yet deep down i know,
i never will. the crazy wild secrets of the desert will
always be inside of me,
like a raven tattooed on skin of my heart.