POEM - That Time we met the Llamas

There was a time when we were a family of three

I know this because Veronica mentions it

Now and then

When her younger siblings are bugging her

I also remember her favorite way to ride in the car

In the middle of the back seat

With Keith on one side

And Dane on the other

Giving her all the attention she could stand

Dane wrote us yesterday

Let us know we were still in her thoughts

That’s how it is with good friends

The years don’t matter

Every time we are together the spaces disappear

Though we are sad the spaces are longer these days

With miles and commitments wedging in between

I wonder if they remember that one trip

It was on a Sunday after church

I had found a map to a trail I had been to

Way back when I was a kid

I thought it would be fun to head up there

Everyone agreed and we piled into the Subaru

The dirt road that led to the trail was long

It was fascinating how many environments we passed through

Washes and desert full of prickly pear and saguaro

Backdrops of rusty red mesas with sheer cliffs

Then it would change to riparian areas and cottonwoods

Then change again as we crawled ever higher

The road got steeper and the scenery more beautiful

Until we reached the last junction and the switchbacks

The road was horrible and we bounced up a while

Until we couldn’t go any further

As we got out to look around

We looked back at all the way we came

It was so vast it distorted your vision

And incredibly breathtaking

As the sun was beginning to set

Turning the mesas from rust to bright copper

The sky spun into streaks of bright pink and orange

We were interrupted by the arrival of a group of hikers

Eight women and two llamas

I think the llamas made Veronica’s day

Keith in his usual way instantly engaged them

Chatted them up and got the details

He was planning the same thing I was

And a few weeks later found us on the same hike

For now it was just a good talk

Then some snacks back at the car

And the long ride home

The sun having surrendered to night

The conversations never surrendered

As our young daughter was lulled to sleep

Ensconced amidst two of her favorite friends