Forgotten Ground Regained
Sleepwalking from Malheur
Step by step, Steens Mountainrises in wide · and rippling wavesof grass that hide · its gradual height,till we come to the edge · of Kiger Gorgeand look down amazed · at its long meadowswhere toy cattle, tiny as ants,quietly graze · in the green below.Further we come · to the final escarpment,and look out east · to the Alvord Desert,while the land takes a fall · below our feet,breaking the dream · of the drowsing slopein an eager plunge · to the arid plain.
Step by step, we stalk the edge,the choice not taken, the tipping point.Will we awake? Will we go on?
Copyright © David B. Ring, 2010