The same wildflowers, a different spring. What matters is that it is spring. What matters is that they return each spring. What matters is each spring will be different. What matters most is that the same wildflowers always return with each different spring.
Not monsters at all, Gila monsters are one of the few species of venomous lizards on the planet. These carnivores are classified as near threatened and are native to the Sonoran Desert. We saw this lizard moving near and under desert bushes in the Saguaro National Park yesterday. Although these carnivores are classified as near threatened, they can be commonly seen this time of year scavenging for food after spending the winter underground.
I walked the trail passing clouds cast their shadows of dark gray on the mountains. All morning I pondered
the thought of a poem I may never write of this moment missing the words like the spring wildflowers
that never bloomed,
the land is bare
birds having migrated south to Mexico.
Black Swallowtail Photo Essay– Signs of Spring by kenne (Tohono Chul, Tucson AZ, February 24, 2018)
Desert springtime, with flowers popping up all over the place, trees leafing out, streams gushing down from the mountains. Great time of year for hiking, camping, exploring, sleeping under the new moon and the old stars. At dawn and at evening we hear the coyotes howling with excitement—mating season.
The clock that strikes five before the sun – A dark horror grips lonely people, In the evening-garden bleak trees swish, The dead one’s countenance stirs at the window. Perhaps this hour stands still. Before dull eyes blue images flutter To the rhythm of the ships, which rock in the river. At the wharf a row of nuns blows by. Pale and blind girls play in the hazel bush, Like lovers, who embrace in sleep. Perhaps flies sing around a carcass there, Perhaps also a child weeps in the mother’s lap. From hands asters sink blue and red, The youth’s mouth slips away strange and wise; And eyelids flutter fear-confused and quiet; Through fevered blackness a scent of bread blows. It seems one also hears horrible screaming; Bones shimmer through decayed walls. An evil heart laughs loudly in beautiful rooms; A dog runs past a dreamer. An empty coffin gets lost in the darkness. A room wants to light up palely for the murderer, Meanwhile, lanterns are smashed in the night’s storm. Laurel adorns the noble one’s white temple.
“Obviously the facts are never just coming at you but are incorporated by an imagination that is formed by your previous experience. Memories of the past are not memories of facts but memories of your imaginings of the facts.”