Matthew Lyle Landsman

Things that hadn’t before, did move under the stress of her fury. She left them deposited here and there, underneath and on top of places. The howl and moan of the night winds are at times an accompaniment, others just a series of bumps in the night that have my kitty on edge, and me rolling over and focusing on sleep again.
She lifts the desert at random places, devils and clouds of dust and silt. Tumbleweeds can sometimes pass a slow moving car, assault from the side and front…hitching a ride on a bumper for miles at a time. She gifts us with leaves from trees a mile away…gifts us with an opportunity to be grateful for the calm when she finally blows out of town.
This morning I am sneezing and tearing from the assault of flying and floating matter in the air…but there is calm, a gentle nature to the day this morning. I hope to see a grand sunrise, a flat river, and have an easy drive through the gap at Wallula, and over Nine Mile Hill. I plan on enjoying the journey, tending to ponder and compose, rather than fight the wheel and earn my miles…
Mostly I will pray for my souls close to me who fight the good fight. Pray for the lonely to find company, the angry to fine serenity, the tired to find a hidden reserve, the resigned to find faith. And the masses to know what love is, and to know they are loved…Matthew