Picking apart the pieces of a pinecone
Digging with fingertips sore from the pain
From the sharp edges of a hardened core
The consistent pulling apart to pry open
The heavy wooden doors of the heart
Individually plucking the pieces like the strings of a harp
Angels screaming when the pluck turns to a pull
Like a sharp withdrawal of breath
That doesn’t belong in your lungs
This poison of decay
Not the decay of fall
Like the slowly drifting leaves that cascade
From heights unattainable by man
That can only be felt by the swift sigh of the wind
Between your grasping fingertips
Like the grasping fingers of your love
That slips away because you weren’t strong enough
To hold on to them as they begged with teary eyes
Looking up at you from the great descent
And you let them go, knowing you couldn’t bear the weight
Of both of you and the love that was creating a canopy
Over your heads and compressing your hearts
And lungs until even the soft scent of fall could not revive you
On this cold winter day
As the last of the fall leaves are being swept away down the stream
Where you once cast little paper boats
Wondering as you held hands where they would land
Hoping for fantasy but knowing even as your fingers unwove
That they would end caught in the dam of nature
Of things never quite meant to be
But it wasn’t enough to make you say no
Even as you plucked the ribs of a pinecone
Asking whether she loved you or not
Like petals of a daisy that have atrophied and petrified
Just as the bitterness of the question has cemented in your heart
Like a cancer hardening you from the inside out
Until you are as purely petrified
As the dissected limbs of lumber left for dead
Each band stands out, creating a carousel of time
But the Braille of years gone by has become illegible
Leaving you to remember the lost sound of symphonies
Music notes echoing into starless nights
Caught in cashmere skies cascading with rain
Where only the earthy smell of Petrichor remains
And the scattered scales of the barren pinecone
Left in the fall foliage like spent shells of artillery
Even these bullets cannot stop the pain in you
As you abandon the stripped pinecone
And begin to pull apart the sharp edges of yourself
To find the hardened core within
Hollow it out until it is empty
And start over again
Posts Tagged ‘memories’
Pinecone Pieces
Sunday, February 24th, 2013Utah Trip: Horseshoe Bend, Vermillion Cliffs and Everything Navajo
Sunday, June 19th, 2011Due to lack of internet I could not post this last night, but here it is now that I have internet. The story of yesterday. 🙂
Today was a day of reminiscing, we went back and visited many places that we saw last year on our road trip to Michigan and loved. The first of our most memorable revisits was Horseshoe Bend, a colossal gooseneck near Lake Powell.
This extraordinarily impressive geological monolith is one of my favorite views I have ever seen. Sadly the lightning was a far cry from last years and resulted in shadowed photos. Good photos or not, this was beyond amazing and I am really glad to go back and have another chance to see this unique structure.
One of the most memorable parts about going to Horseshoe Bend last year was the amazing lizard we found. This beautiful creature had spots and brightly orange colored stripes. He was gorgeous and today I was on a lizard hunt in hope of finding a similar lizard. In the end I did, see the next post for the full story but here is one photo for now.
Our next revisit was to the Vermillion Cliffs, which includes the Navajo Bridge and the Cliff Dweller’s Lodge. This wonderful park is surrounded by beautiful red cliffs and blue skies.
The first part of the park contains the Navajo Bridge, which bridges the beautiful Colorado River.
The Cliff Dweller’s Lodge is home to one of my favorite photos I have ever taken. The old adobe home on the side of the road with turquoise door and window frames that can be found at the Cliff Dweller’s Lodge is a truly beautiful little piece of ancient times. Before I gave the picture of only the door and window, but now here is the entire house.
Surrounding this old home are the Vermillion Cliffs and these strange boulder homes that have been built up and once upon a time, lived in. These strange homes are littered about in a hap-hazard fashion but are extremely intriguing due to their balanced and fragile looking structure.
While exploring these old places my mom and I were having fun stopping at every single Native American jewelry stand we came across. All over the side of the roads are little stands full of gorgeous hand made jewelry, dream-catchers, and pottery. We had a lot of fun shopping around and talking to the local Navajo’s about their beautiful home.
After a long day of reminiscing we took an unexpected turn and decided to go to Death Valley.
We had plans of going to Bishop and then Devil’s Postpile National Park, but found out that it is still closed due to the snow pack they still have. So yes, a strange choice for the summer where even at night it is 107 degrees outside, but we did it anyways. So tonight we find ourselves staying at the Stovepipe Wells in the heart of Death Valley after driving down an omnisouly straight and long road out into the desert.
Tomorrow we will hike out before sunrise to see the sand dunes in the early morning glow before the sun bears down on us with its unforgiving heat.
Posted in Photos, Travel Updates |
A New Year
Saturday, January 1st, 2011This past year has been one of progress and growth for me at least. I have learned so much in this year alone that it is astonishing to me; from photography, to my writing, to my schooling I feel I have grown. Instead of taking the time to look back on all the wonderful things that have happened this year I want t o take the time to move forward. People linger far to log in the past and as part of my growth I hope to live in the now instead of what has happened. I want to tell everyone to take advantage of the life you are given and don’t waste a second. Now is the time for growth, it does not matter if you are young or old, it is the time to grow. So soak up in your roots the wonderful memories of the past and spread out your branches with the growth of new memories and new life.
