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POETRY
White Sands
Into the West Sonnet Series
From mountain highs to valley lows, swiftly
the plummet popped ears and dried out our eyes.
Damp leaves and pine straw under foot gave way
to white heat where the plain of gypsum lies.
Past the causeway of military might
another world emerged, land transfigured
into a glory too bright for mere sight,
where shade structures from the space age appeared
like ships upon a crystal sea. The wind
sculpts and burns, unchecked. Roads are illusions.
Lizards fly like darts, appearance transcends
reason. Yucca sends up defiant blooms.
Remnant of an ancient sea, endlessly
eroding and renewing, just like me.
White Sands: also an incredible place! I was beside myself with excitement to see it, especially after growing up seeing so many iconic photographs of the picnic tables. (Check out THIS photographer’s work there — amazing)
We drove down to the valley where White Sands is located from our camp up above Cloudcroft in Lincoln National Forest, where it had been lovely and…
