Independence Valley
Watch the restless swallows come and go
on the power line to Tuscarora.
Some avian law explains the way
they leave precise space between each other.
Instinct decrees the distance between hawks
hunkered on poles beside the Midas Road.
Nature tells peregrine falcons not to nest
less than two miles from other raptors.
But what of the ranchers who inhabit
the valley below? From an eagle's view
soaring above the plain, distance makes sense.
That's all the high desert land can sustain.
Still, a question remains. Does remoteness
breed a species disinclined to be near
its kind? No. Any dusty road will show
the miles folks will go to help each other.
Yet, not everyone is born for this place.
Those who do survive, stay sober, stay sane,
have willed their peace with silence and space.
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