About Blythe

Blythe, California 

through no fault of its own
this desert town
cannot be pretty
it’s a gritty sandpapered bald spot
sitting like an anti-oasis
surrounded by hundreds of acres
of verdant farmland

the Courtesy Coffee Shop
sits amid the burger and coffee chains
a true oasis of its kind
the interior retains the 1961 décor
no one would change it—
it’s oddly comfortable
for the few travelers who stop in
persistent locals and those who return
for their high school reunions

the formica counter is worn
where one’s arms would rest
reading a newspaper
eating breakfast
having a conversation
sipping strong coffee—
tough farmers meet here to talk
about crops and water
and children moved away

even still—
there’s an uneasy heave
in a traveler’s first breath in Blythe—
the landscape and aromas of the town
farmlands and desert wilderness
are three pieces of a peculiar puzzle—
an arid way station
within an agricultural mecca
surrounded by an unrelenting desert
eager to invade—
they don’t quite fit together
yet together they abide

Portage of a Vision

Beyond the visible.
What is that?
Love?  Anxiety?  Truth?
God Waiting—

Where?
The Unseen—
The Experience—
Something Profound—

no explanation—
left with inexplicable emotions
that chew—

waves on a coastline—
there are voices
unsettling to one’s world view
affirming to another’s—
beyond the visible however remote
from there to here
language beyond language
we carry within