The old hotel, a relic from
the days of cattle kings, collects the hum
of ancient fans at work upstairs,
the buzzing of the kitchen’s Frigidaires.
We gather on the porch to watch
a flock of redwing blackbirds play hop-scotch
among the reeds across the road.
The porch is screened; mosquito swarms explode
upon the marsh at dusk, and bring
the swallows from the eaves of barns to wing
about in swift pursuit. A pair
of sandhill cranes alights with fanfare, their
pronouncements shrill, their lively prance
a formal invitation to a dance.
The orchestra warms up; the strains
of crickets rise to meet the hoarse refrains
of frogs. The cranes repeat a phrase
and vanish in the gloom. Beyond, ablaze
with bloom in late sun, under shrouds
of lightning-studded blue-gray thunderclouds,
Steens Mountain’s snowclad sawtooth top
ascends. The gentle grade belies the drop,
five thousand feet straight down, the fault
a layer cake of black and gray basalt
above the Alvord Desert floor.
I find my silent reverie far more
expressive than the words I voice.
I see myself, the universe, the choice
that brought me to this state of grace,
as elevated from the commonplace.
A sudden clatter filters out.
The call to supper startles, like a shout.
– David Hedges
Photo by
David is a long-time lover of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. He has captured it beauty in words over decades and shares those works generously through the Friends of Malheur NWR. David sits on the Board of Directors for the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission, an entity which chooses to financially support FOMR’s hosting of Tribal Stewards at Malheur NWR annually.
