Mesa Memories

Once, she would contract
into the clamor
of yesterday and tomorrow.

But today, under a relentless Sedona sunshine,
she seeks the silent abundance of now.

Like a saguaro cactus
she holds water in her ribs ~
red rock reserves

A foundation of readiness for spring's
release of prickly pear blooms.

This sundance of in and out
give and take, contraction and release,
is her brittle-brush journey

Between desert expansion
and blue-green sage retreat.

But tonight,
like a single taper, long and unflickering
in an Arizona night wind

She holds steady only
to what Is. Only this. Only now.