Colorado Trail Wandering

 

Colorado Trail, Wandering

A dusty Colorado trail ribbons over the top of that far hill

Leading the curious hiker to discover just where it goes.

Over that crest into the valley below one must stop and marvel.

Purple, snowcapped Rockies guard the west, and pine-topped hills roll on for miles.

This small trail threads through stiff and yellowed buffalo grass and scrub

To the trickle of an almost dry creek bed.

Brush and bramble, and dried bulrushes whisper tales of vibrant summer days to come.

Footprints left by thirsty travelers: deer, antelope, and a fox, perhaps,

Passed this way earlier—to fill their throats—

To hunt for the green of Spring along its banks.

This dry creek, and nature’s critters, wait for late Spring snows and rains to fill her bed,

For the cottonwood and elm to shade her banks,

Pulse with life again.

A bird trills in the distance.

These early birds perch today on budding limbs, building their nests.

Like the trail that crests that far hill, Spring is just on the other side.

Linda K. Bridges, ©2017