Orange Mountains

The last warm breath of sunshine spills across the mountains as I sit in the long shadows of the evening. I am spending time alone outside my lover’s adobe this evening enjoying the space that comes from spending a few minutes alone.

I am amazed by the feel of the warm breeze that touches my unprotected skin, where a few days ago I was covered head to toe, entombed in my warm winter clothes. Tonight I am dressed only in a T-shirt and shorts, my bare are feet snuggled to the earth.

I lean back in my chair. Spread open across my lap is the book I am reading. The sunlight has now faded completely, leaving me to breathe slowly in the dark. In the peace of the evening, the daily drone of the war invades my consciousness, reminding me of the preciousness of the moment. I am tired of war, so much, so that it is hard now to pick up a paper or keep the radio tuned to the station that reports the latest dead count.

It is a luxury to have a moment to spend in the peaceful darkness, to be alone with my thoughts--a luxury that people exposed to daily violence may not know for a very long time.

Orange mountains
And peaceful
Quiet Evenings
Are my desires
Now, as I sit in the darkness
For my brothers
And sisters
Everywhere