flax on shale, image by Fred Ménagé, on Pixabay
Surviving the Sierras
Shale rocks on an incline can be a problem.
My brother and his friends with longer legs
sped and scurried down the west side of the mount’s face
bushwacking the trail in leaps and bounds
with calculated slides to reach
the cars waiting to take us home with gleaming windows
in the receding afternoon sun.
Shale rocks on an incline can be a worry.
Burdened with a fifty-pound pack and hiking boots
two sizes too big, first I lost sight of the rest of the group,
then lost all sound leading me to stop and bend over,
breathing in the smell of pine trees
in the presence of no other human being.
Shale rocks on an incline can be dangerous.
Desperate, behind, and afraid,
I too cut the trail and jumped
down, down into a rock field a hundred feet long
until I was stuck—petrified.
To try to ascend meant I’d slide back in place
and to try to descend would be
uncontrollable destructive momentum.
My fears foresaw me clearly as a lonely
broken crumpled motionless mass
at the bottom of a ledge on a switchback of the trail.
Shale rocks on an incline can have a purpose.
Still not able to move, I did what mom taught
and prayed to know what to do.
The answer came in a clear voice, “Drop and roll.”
I quivered in my determination but dropped
into a ball and rolled my best roll.
My body rolled at a fast, but steady pace
for three-fourths of the field
and I landed on the trail below with a puff
of white dust looking like a ghost
without a scratch.
With time to kneel, I prayed to offer God my thanks,
then in young, new liveliness started to run
to the desert floor where the cars, with their high beams on,
waited for me.
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Michael Shoemaker is a poet, writer, and photographer. His poems have appeared in Ancient Paths Literary Journal, Front Porch Review, Utah Life Magazine, and elsewhere. His first book, Rocky Mountain Reflections, has just been published
by Poet’s Choice. This photography/poetry collection can be purchased (for 25 U.S. dollars) at: Rocky Mountain Reflections – Poets Choice Michael lives in Magna, Utah, with his wife
and son where he enjoys looking out on the Great Salt Lake every day.
March 2024 issue