big moon valley freakout

ten thousand feet high
ten miles long
huge white granite tumble blocks
and a full moon
saturn high up and
mr. green is calmly talking
he says: the pink haze is
from the setting sun behind us
you only see this in the mountains
i nod assent and then i think these
things in quick succession:
i’m naked on the high earth
near the hand of god and what if
he plucks this land up
what if the mountains shake themselves out
like a blanket
what if this was a great 3-D theater
with creatures three thousand feet high
what if gravity is not real here
what if i lose control of my mind
and find myself falling up
what if the moon sees my soul
i clutch the granite sides of the niche
mr. green and i are tucked in but
the ride goes faster and i say to mr. green:
i’m getting the spookies, man
i’m gonna have to go
i can’t look at this it’s too big
too high too wide too much air
too many light years
too many stars too beautiful
i’m spooking and reeling and i gotta go burrow
sorry, mr. green
but he just nods because
i’ve had the spookies before
last time he had to get me back to my tent
before i fell to space
this time he says he’s ready to go he’s cold
so we head back to the tents
where after a short show of brandy bravery
under good fellow trees
i dive into my little safe hole
where there is no apparent face of god
just green nylon
close one