A dozen pebbles, and a tablespoon of sand
Worked down into my boots, bright spots of rock and sand
And cursing as I fumbled with my laces, pulled
my boots off, turned them over: a cascade of sand.
Golden-mantled ground squirrel startled by the noise
forgot his begging, panicked, ran across the sand.
His eyes were stars. Last night, a forest full of stars;
I watched them turn all night. We lay there on the sand.
Has this earth always spun breakneck? I watched it turn
and dizzied, slipped time through my fingers, so much sand.
All night, I watched the meteors rend the sky with fire:
A dozen pebbles and a tablespoon of sand.
