Wonder
A poem.
Wonder
winter in the desert has a type of poetry all its own
听the way silence bears the weight of snow
听and the sun struggles weakly through an ash colored sky
听weak and weary, like a swimmer without rest
听 it's as if a young man on a trip with his parents and younger brother
听would awaken at 6:30 one frosty morning
听(the dawn being a mixture of pink and black)
听stepping out of his motel room in a tiny town in southern Utah
听and in five minutes of empty staring
听could store up enough wonder for the world
听that he could begin asking himself what college was for anyway
听 on a trip to see Bryce Canyon in the days after Christmas, before the new year
听so that when the boy awakened, the two of them alone without their parents
听could stare together for a solid ten minutes
听each of their five minutes joined together
听and say nothing, their hands jammed in trouser pockets
听air like smoke pouring from their mouths and nostrils
听gazing at the bare mountains covered with snow
听like massive cakes with frosting
听 sensing that this stuff of postcards
听combined with the fading phosphorescence of the motel's neon sign
听was very good, and beyond all explanation
听 鈥� Paul Flodquist