Coachella

Erin Jay
Author: Erin Jay
Word Count: 185
previous browse writing next

Coachella

The Coachella Valley sits on the edge of the Mojave Desert in California, and I’ve lived here most of my life. It’s… difficult to describe.

Coachella belongs to the following groups:

All Things Poetic, Artistic, Philosophical

I sink my feet into the sand of my home
grains rubbing against my surgery scar
and my ankles are always the part that starts sweating first

Growing up in a desert gives one a peculiar view of life

As children we would run wildly through the scrub
soles hardened to the searing heat and stickers
catching things that could kill us and wondering why Mother panicked

I’ve held things delicate and deadly with these fingers

Half the animals were endangered
The other half were simply dangerous
and we were made equal with them under the wild washlight sun

The dunes went on forever;
I was too small to see the mountains

Years later I remember sitting on the street outside a bar in New Orleans
newfound friends asking me how I can stand
wearing full length jeans in one hundred degree weather

When I tell them that the water droplets in the air coming off the Gulf
feel stranger to me than the heat
they give me odd looks and move away

How do you explain the Mojave to someone from New Jersey?

  • freidajones

    freidajones

    love it…read my writing….get us saved..hugs,Freida

Add your comment

You need to login or signup to add your comment to this work.