Texas Road

I halt along a Texas road
To pause and look about
To feel the ground and watch the sky
Pretending I’m a scout.

I hear the rustle of the birds
A-nesting in the brush
And lose myself with ants in grass,
No longer in a rush.

The wind blows through my thinning hair
And sings a gentle koan
That says “absorb this moment, son
And make your life your own.”

— October 26, 2021, Callahan County, Texas