Chased the sun up the mountain
just as the light jumped

White-gray thicket
Humming bees orbit its wide oak crown
like sparks from fire

Gray and black snake outstretched
onto dying heat

Burnt day froze into shining rock
Earth's self-portrait

Thorns becoming clear crickets
fill in where dawn once painted
greenish blue

Spotted dove flaps like slow rattle
under dry sagebrush