talking to fellow Texans at the Grand Canyon

We stood at Yaki Point, silent, awed

content in the silence of the wind 

through the piñon trees.

They walked up the trail behind us:

There are no words,

she expounded as if someone asked.

(But there are always words

I thought, even in the canyon’s silence).

Yet, they kept talking:

how Yosemite is more Impressive

Oh, you have to go there

The hikes— so strenuous

We were so sore afterwards

Then they walked away talking

as if to someone else.

While the wind moved through the piñon trees

filling the silence they left behind.

(June 9, 2022)