the colorado

(February 2022. Written by a small lagoon off the Colorado River in Ehrenberg, Arizona after Skooliepalooza.)

the colorado

water crossing the american desert
will not reach the sea
anymore, at least not this way.

the conquest of the west has failed.

it courses through the desert
to a promised peace,
but will dry and evaporate
before reaching the seas.

hope must take to the air.

i am here, by the river,
and it does still flow,
but i know the delta’s
derivative slows.
can we recreate lake cahuilla,
will the trough overflow,
do all pools debouch⁠—
where do all waters go?
will i with all my life
cool enough to condense
enough water of this hot air
for something new to grow?

the wind blows south
as strong as it can
and i hope.
the colorado continues,
increasingly dust,
but i am watching
and i will share the warning.

maybe it is not too late
to change course.