121920c

Stars To Steer By

Working in the field

a part of Western Utah so empty

you only meet geologists.

Riding into town every few days

for water and food.

That was the year

they first sold bacon ends and pieces

I had bacon

fried in a pan on a single-burner

propane stove

three meals a day

never got tired of that stuff.

Didn't take long

collected all the trilobites I carry

followed a vein of pyrite crystals

big as the last joint of my thumb

collected them too

they make nice gifts.

All’s left from those days

one chunk of pyrite

a weatherbeaten box

of trilobite rock

a couple of notebooks

and a box of 4x6’s.

I've moved on

the desert’s still there

mummified sheep

riverbeds dry

for 10,000 years

probably a few geologists

cooking dinner in a pan

or in a can

amongst the coals.