San Diego Free Press

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Desert Prognosis

by

By Will Falk

unnamed

United States Fish and Wildlife Service

wrapped in the dark blanket of night
huddled
and feverish with cosmic infections

either I’m shaking
or the sky is

I look to the heavens
with so many wishes
and only so many shooting stars

the last star is erratic
bouncing off her sisters
before she tails away
burns out

watching all this
I find it easy to confuse blinking planes
with sincere prayers

when the smoke runs out
and I have nowhere left to go
I retreat into sleep
the cheapest anesthetic available to me

the moon rises
and attempts to explain
what it all means

then the coyotes begin
one sings
one whines
one laughs

and one is on the scent
of the way on

I hear but I can’t remember how to listen
I rub down the goose bumps forming
and shiver

then I add the loss of language
to the list of my afflictions

Will Falk

Will Falk

Will Falk moved to the West Coast from Milwaukee, WI where he was a public defender. His first passion is poetry and his work is an effort to record the way the land is speaking. He feels the largest and most pressing issue confronting us today is the destruction of natural communities. He received a Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Chapter, 2016 Journalism award. He is currently living in Utah.

Comments

  1. I like this one, Will. “I hear but I can’t remember how to listen” – something tells me this will reconnect for you on your upcoming journey. A step away from the concrete jungle & boxed in regulations of modern society, a step towards re-learning the language of nature, of companions (human & non). Looking forward to see what lies ahead. Safe travels.

  2. Thank you very much, T-funk!
    Sometimes I wonder if it is possible to re-learn the language of nature in one life-time. Luther Standing Bear, the great Sioux chief in the 1930s, said, “Men must be born and reborn to belong. Their bodies must be formed of the dust of their forefathers’ bones.” One of the great challenges for Europeans, that I see, is that we haven’t lived in so-called North America for very long. Part of the problem with this is our traditional knowledges have been lost and, if we can believe the original peoples of Great Turtle Island (and I think we have to believe them because they were living in a balance here when we showed up), they are telling us it takes a long time to learn to listen to the land.

    This shouldn’t be depressing, I don’t think. It just means we need to work under the leadership of the original peoples to restore the land.

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