Late Notes

Went out to Las Vegas this week to the Western States Sheriffs' Association, to talk with as many sheriffs as I could. This shot was taken off the 127, a circuitous route from Las Vegas to Baker, California. Some of the most beautiful desert vistas you might imagine. I look forward to going back there to spend a weekend or so, hiking and enjoying the feeling that long, sweeping views instill in a human being.

Late Poem

After Edna St. Vincent Millay
 
O Earth I cannot hold you close enough;
the winds born of these wide blue skies,
and the mists that roll and rise
upon your mountainsides this very day--
they rest sublime witness yet again
as the gaunt peak high above
waits with a view to the sea.

O Earth, I cannot get close enough
to your glory I’ve known and pursued for this long;
that which stirs a passion to make me burst
with joy and thanks--
my soul all but out of me in
seeking your embrace.

O Earth, let the sun burnish your oceans
and all of your numinous orb;
and let fall the burning leaves;
and let rise the various seeds;
and let call every thing,
tame, wild, or in-between.